Ignacio Ramirez

Wednesday, August 16 2006 @ 06:32 AM EDT

Las Vegas Sun -- HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) - A soldier from southern Nevada was among three service members killed when a bomb exploded near their vehicle in Iraq, the military said.

Spc. Ignacio Ramirez, 22, of Henderson, was killed Aug. 9 when an improvised explosive device detonated near the Humvee he was driving during combat operations in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, the Defense Department said Monday.

"He joined the Army to better his life and help his country," said his stepfather, Robert Vance. "He was a good kid. He was a hero."

Also killed were 1st Sgt. Aaron D. Jagger, 43, of Hillsdale, Mich., and Spc. Shane W. Woods, 23, of Palmer, Alaska.

The soldiers were assigned to the Army's 1st Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment, 1st Armored Division, based in Friedberg, Germany.

A funeral was scheduled Friday in Henderson for Ramirez, a 2002 graduate of Basic High School who was born in Los Angeles but grew up in Henderson. He played youth baseball and high school football.

He is among 25 U.S. military personnel from Nevada and at least 42 with ties to the state who have died in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

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