SABINE PASS — Flags were at half staff in Sabine Pass and handwritten notes of support, complete with small flags, dotted the Sabine Pass School lawn honoring Army Pfc. Ryan Berg.

Berg, 19, died Tuesday from a gunshot wound he sustained while deployed in Iraq, family members confirmed via telephone Wednesday.

Family members were devastated by the news and a statement was given through a family spokesperson.

“We are very saddened by our loss,” the statement said. “We are very proud of Ryan and his service to the country. We know with the strength of our community and family, we will be able to go forward.”

The media relations chief for Fort Hood Military Base could not confirm the death of Berg as of Wednesday afternoon.

The soldier’s wife of four months, Katie Berg, 19, keeps the dog tags her husband wore in boot camp on a necklace around her neck, she said in a December interview. One of the tags has a photo of Berg with the name of his unit on the opposite side. She never takes the tags off, she said.

Berg had a strong support group in his small home town. His mother, Scottie Berg, is administrative assistant at Sabine Pass School and whenever Ryan Berg would call home during the week, someone would stay on the phone with him until his mother was available, his mother said during an earlier interview. Even his two younger siblings, Brad, 16, and Marissa, 10, were able to get time on the phone with their older brother.

His mother knew the dangers her son and other soldiers faced. In an almost prophetic quote, Scottie Berg said in December, “One of his friends was shot by a sniper. Things like that make it more real to us, we know what could happen.”

Zack Byrd, consultant for the school district, said the family received word of Berg’s death but did not know details.

“Because the community centers around the school and because his mother works at the school, there is a lot of sadness,” Byrd said. “The school district will make people available for students who are grieving and the principal will talk to the students today (Wednesday) about the death. The school will move along and provide whatever help the students may need.”

The news of Berg’s death swept quickly through the small coastal community, causing family and friends to rely on each other for comfort.

“We grew up together, graduated school together in 2005. We were teammates and we were best friends,” Devin Deslatte said of Berg. “He made a brave decision by enrolling in the Army right out of high school. He wanted to go to Iraq, it was something he felt strongly about. He went there with a purpose and he fulfilled it.”

Deslatte offered strong words of support for U.S. troops.

“We need to take time to thank our troops and soldiers for our freedom,” he said. “Sometimes they don’t get to come home, like Ryan.”

Berg was an outgoing young man and a people person who always had something good to say about someone, Deslatte said.

“He could always put a smile on your face,” he added.

Berg was Jennie Lee’s CavOILcade escort during the 2005 pageant. Lee, 19, choked up as she spoke of her friend.

“There wasn’t anyone he didn’t like and everyone liked him,” she said.

Like Deslatte, Lee knew Berg since childhood. She said that during the pageant Berg was a “gentleman who did all he could to help her.”

Berg’s decision to join the military at such a young age makes Lee proud.

“He wanted to protect our country,” she said. “He wanted to make a difference, that’s how he felt, that he could make a difference.”

In the December interview, Berg talked about his aspirations for the future and life after serving his country.

“I want to go to school and get certified as a welder," he said, “and definitely move back home. My dad wants to build us a house out here.”

Berg was deployed to Iraq Oct. 4 and, to his family’s surprise, was able to visit during the Christmas holidays. On Jan. 4 he left Sabine Pass for Dallas for his return trip to Iraq.

Ryan Berg is survived by his wife, Katie Berg; mother, Scottie Berg; father, Travis Berg; brother, Brad Berg; sister, Marissa Berg; grandmothers, Loisanna Berg and Helena Saunders, all of Sabine Pass; and grandfather, Bob Saunders of Corrigan; plus numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.