Local Army Ranger killed in Afghanistan By Adam Martignetti and Will Courtney Staff Writers NEWBURYPORT — As a young man, Derek Hines wasn't tall, but he always stood out among his peers. The son of Sgt. Steven D. Hines of the Massachusetts State Police and his wife, Susan, he said in his high school yearbook that he wanted "to see the best in everyone and to strive to be like my parents." As he matured, he knew how he would make them proud. He'd serve his country. On Thursday, U.S. Army First Lt. Derek Hines, 24, an Army Ranger and member of the elite 101st Airborne Division, died serving that cause. Hines was killed while serving in Afghanistan, but family members and the Department of Defense did not have further details yesterday. At least a dozen friends and family gathered at the Hines home on Ferry Road. State police officers on the scene said that the family was requesting its privacy to deal with the tragedy. When reached at the family's home yesterday afternoon, Sgt. Hines was melancholy and spoke only in a hoarse, whispering voice. "It's a parent's worst nightmare," he said. "He always said he was fine. He always said, 'Dad, don't worry about me. ' That's why I always thought he was coming home." About a dozen family members and friends gathered outside the Hines' home yesterday. "He was the best," his father said via telephone. "He never complained." Hines was deployed in March to Afghanistan, where he was a fire support officer with Battle Company, an airborne infantry charged with securing the areas of Arghandab, Deh Chopan and Khak Afghan. Hines' unit was instrumental in supporting the efforts of the people to create a democracy and build the infrastructure necessary to support a new government there. Those efforts will ultimately be a part of his legacy. In a letter to Daily News readers in July, he spoke of how proud he was of the 20- and 21-year-old soldiers who were serving under him and making the "ultimate sacrifice." That was something Hines was always willing to do himself, friends said. "He wanted to serve his country," said Steven DeBenedictis, one of Hines' hockey coaches at St. John's Prep. "That's what he wanted to do. He could have done a lot of things." Hines attended the Immaculate Conception School, Nock Middle School and St. John's Prep in Danvers, where he was a member of the Class of 1999. Only 5-foot-8, Hines excelled at both hockey and lacrosse, leading each in scoring in his senior year. "Derek was small, but everything he did was all about effort," DeBenedictis said. He was a four-year starter for the hockey team and led the team to its first-ever appearance in the Super 8 semifinals. He maintained himself as a standout, well-rounded student. DeBenedictis said Hines did everything it took to achieve an appointment to West Point himself, not an easy task for the best student-athletes. He went on to captain West Point's hockey team. "He was an incredibly special young man," St. John's Prep hockey coach Bob Marinelli said last night. "He had all the signs of a young man who really had it all together." While in Afghanistan rooting out the Taliban in mountains as high as 12,000 feet, Hines told of the hope of the Afghan people and the meaning of the role of American servicemen in the war-torn country. "He was a deep thinker," Marinelli said. "He was aware of other peoples' struggles." St. John's Principal Ed Hardiman said the faculty was deeply saddened by the news. Hardiman began at Saint John's after Derek had graduated but spent yesterday talking with his former teachers and coaches to learn more about him. "He was an extraordinary student and a special young man," Hardiman said. "He had a tremendous impact on our school." A member of the National Honor Society and The Prep Pride Club, Hines was also active in campus ministry, the French National Honor Society and the school's community service club, through which he spent four days working at homeless shelters and soup kitchens in Boston. "He set such an example for people," Marinelli said. "He's going to be terribly missed."