For me, remembering this war in Iraq in the years to come will be of NBC journalist David Bloom racing across the desert with the Army's Third Infantry Division en route to Baghdad. The stunning photography and reporting he delivered as an embedded journalist with the 3rd ID showed a reality of war from the view point not of a general or secretary of defense, but of the enlisted man in his late teens and early twenties, dusty and dirty and professionally doing their job.

David Bloom died early Sunday morning (April 6) Baghdad time of an apparent pulmonary embolism. He was 39 years old. He would have been 40 on May 22. He leaves behind a wife, Melanie, twin 9 year-old daughters Nicole and Christine and a 3 year-old daughter, Ava.

David Bloom joined NBC in 1993, working as a White House correspondent and then promoted in 2000 as co-anchor of Weekend Today on NBC along side Soledad O'Brien. He started his career in Miami, winning awards for his coverage of Hurricane Andrew.

But it is in the desert where the nation, if not maybe the world learned of the ambitious and charismatic reporter, the guy who dumped his slick on-air look for desert tan instead of Armani and dust instead of hair gel. At night, with his cameraman Craig White, he'd be a glow-green with lights of explosions flashing in the background. And when the wind kicked up the sand, he and everything around him was a rusty orange color. Anyway he gave you the images, it was the reporting that was always on target, from explaining the type of equipment he rode with, to some of the soldiers he traveled with, to the elements of the climate, David Bloom made you feel like you were there, and you were thankful he was there to tell us the story.

When I flicked on the television, or visited MSNBC.com for the latest on the war in Iraq, the first thing I would look for was a report from David Bloom. I was captivated at what he was doing. He was a husband and father of three, on the road to Baghdad with the 3rd ID in the "Bloommobile," racing across the desert hard pan, all dusty and dirty, communicating from a satellite phone and a digital camera that transmitted steadier pictures at 50 MPH than it did standing still, and he seemed to love it. I couldn't help but get excited at the war movement from his reporting alone. And yet he never complained, even with lack of sleep, in need of a good shower, traveling in cramped quarters and eating military rations, he was happy, even jolly, like this was the event of a lifetime, and according to many of his colleagues, that was what this assignment was to him: the event of a lifetime.

David Bloom is a GenXer, albeit one of the elder statesmen in my generation, but he was showing many of us the way. He led with ambition, never succumbed to just doing good enough and always seemed to push more information.

We have heroes in our lives, people who make us think a certain way or push us to strive for more in our lives and our work. David Bloom was one of my heroes. A constant professional and great gentleman, David Bloom led the way for his generation, a new voice in the world that refused to look at the surface of the fact, and was willing to dig deeper, without jeopardizing quality, integrity or reputation. He was willing to work hard, sweat and get dirty. He could also be easier and softer, as he showed on the Today Show Saturday and Sunday mornings, mingling with a chef or playing with gadgets. Still, it was the frontlines he enjoyed, jumping into a car or on a plane to cover a big event, from a hurricane to OJ to Lewinskygate to 9/11 and now the war in Iraq, he gave us a first hand look with honesty and decency, a gentleman and a professional, proving that hard work and a little common decency can go a very long way.

No one can explain why things happen. They just sort of happen when we least expect it. But what David Bloom as given us, particularly in the last few weeks will last a lifetime. Thank you, David.

ejh