Cleveland Plain Dealer - Katie Schamberg remembered her nephew, U.S. Army Sgt. Kurt Schamberg, as a man who loved life.

"Kurt loved art and he loved sports. He loved politics," Katie Schamberg said from her home in Orwell late Friday. "He was very comedic. He loved entertaining. He loved having a good time . . . He was just a real sweet kid. The world's going to miss him."

Sgt. Schamberg, 26, was killed Thursday in a roadside blast near Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, his aunt said. He was on his second tour of duty in Iraq, having returned there on Jan. 25. Schamberg was with the 10th Mountain Division based at Fort Drum, N.Y.

Schamberg received the Purple Heart on April 12 for injuries suffered on March 31 when he was patrolling around Abu Ghraib.

Schamberg was the son of Thomas Schamberg, Orwell's former mayor and a schoolteacher for 30 years. The elder Schamberg lives in Melrose, Mass. Kurt Schamberg's mother, Pamela Lindsay, lives in Gillette, Wyo.

Schamberg was a 1997 graduate of Grand Valley High School in Orwell, in Ashtabula County. He joined the Army in April 2003, inspired by the events of Sept. 11, 2001. He knew he probably would be sent to Iraq, his aunt said. Schamberg had one more year in his stint in the Army. He considered going into private security when he was discharged.

In addition to his aunt and parents, he leaves behind two older brothers and a younger sister and both his grandmothers.