Washington Post -- Sgt. David E. Lambert, a Virginia Army National Guardsman who died Friday after an explosion in Baghdad, was a dedicated soldier, active in his church and engaged to be married at the time of his death, a soldier from his former unit said.

Lambert, 39, was from Cedar Bluff in Tazewell County.

"This is a significant loss, not only to the Virginia Guard but to the community," said Sgt. 1st Class James Spurlock, who had known Lambert since 2005. "As a soldier he was excellent. . . . He didn't need to be told to do things."

Lambert was assigned to the 237th Engineer Company, 276th Engineer Battalion, 91st Troop Command, based in West Point, Va.

Lambert enlisted in the Army in 1988 and in the National Guard in July 2005. He left Virginia on July 19 for training at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin and arrived in Iraq on Sept. 26, said Capt. Dayna E. Rowden, a Guard spokeswoman.