Toy drive for Iraqi kids

UNDATED, Va. - With his red hair, blue eyes and big smile, there's no mistaking Army Sgt. Mason Lewis. He had a grin from ear to ear in just about every picture he ever took, especially the ones with children.

"He loved the kids. He was all about the kids and he wanted to have kids one day," said Christa Arnest, Mason's close friend.

She says Mason had another dream.

"When I found out he was going to Iraq I said, oh - you know, that was his dream to go and defend our country."

His girlfriend says far from home he found more children to love, passing out toys that his mom would send him for the kids in Iraq.

"He always had a soft heart, and reaching out to the kids like that, I bet it meant a lot to them," said Felecia Snow.

Iraqi children even had a nickname for Mason - Crazy Monkey.

"Every time they'd see the American soldiers they'd holler 'crazy monkey' and if mason was around and he had a toy, he'd toss it out to them," said Arnest.

Last month Mason died after falling from a roof at a military base outside Baghdad. Now, family and friends are collecting stuffed animals to send overseas to his unit. They're calling the project - Operation Mason.

"I want to make sure that his memory is always here, that he's never forgotten," said Snow.

"If we can bring just a little joy, it doesn't have to be a lot, just a little joy to those kids, to the soldiers who are handing out the toys great," added Arnest.

They say "Crazy Monkey" would be proud.