James Kristofer Ciraso

Monday, December 11 2006 @ 09:00 AM EST

Bangor Daily News -- BANGOR — A 1999 Bangor High School graduate who was a member of the school’s Junior ROTC program became the latest Iraq war casualty from Maine late last week when he was killed by a roadside bomb.

Army Staff Sgt. James Kristofer Ciraso, 26, was killed Thursday while serving in Iraq, the Department of Defense announced Sunday.

Ciraso, formerly of Bangor and Waltham, Mass., died from injuries he suffered when an improvised explosive device exploded near his military vehicle in Baghdad, according to media reports.

Ciraso was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas, where he was leader of a unit known as the Black Knights.

The unit recently had undergone special training in Military Operations in Urbanized Training, or MOUT, according to a unit newsletter.

Ciraso was the second service member from Maine to be killed in less than a week.

Marine Cpl. Dustin J. Libby, 22, of Castle Hill was killed Wednesday in a firefight while manning a machine gun on top of a building in Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province. Ramadi has seen some of the bloodiest street battles of the war.

The details of Ciraso’s death remained sketchy Sunday night. Attempts to contact members of his family were unsuccessful.

A member of the Junior ROTC program for all four of his high school years in Bangor, Ciraso was accepted into the Maine Army National Guard’s Company B 3rd Battalion while still a junior.

On Sunday, Col. Jackson Kurtzman, who was Ciraso’s Junior ROTC adviser, remembered the slain soldier as a conscientious and capable cadet.

"He was conscientious and really interested in the military," Kurtzman said Sunday night when contacted at home.

"He had a very positive attitude and earned merits every week. And he was a leader as far as setting an example for his peers," he said. "He definitely had a propensity for military service."

In statements issued Sunday, U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins and 2nd District U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud expressed sadness about Ciraso’s death.

"Kristofer Ciraso’s service to the United States will never be forgotten and his sacrifice in defense of his nation forever remembered," Snowe said.

"We owe an unpayable debt of gratitude to the brave men and women in uniform like Staff Sergeant Ciraso, whose courage is an inspiration to us all. My condolences and my prayers are with his friends and family."

Said Collins: "My heart goes out to the family and loved ones of Staff Sgt. James Kristofer Ciraso. I join the Bangor community in mourning his passing. His service to our nation was noble and honorable, and I know that he will be deeply missed. My thoughts and prayers will be with those who knew him."

In his statement, Michaud said: "I want to extend my deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Sgt. Ciraso. We honor his life and his ultimate sacrifice. Too many of our best and brightest have given their lives in Iraq. My thoughts and prayers are with the families who have lost loved ones and with our men and women still in harm’s way."

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