Hartford Courant -- An Army officer who grew up in Shelton was killed in Iraq on Tuesday after the patrol he was leading came under small arms fire.

First Lt. Thomas J. Brown, 26, was leading his soldiers on a patrol in Salman Pak, Iraq, the Army said. Brown was serving with the 2nd Battalion of the 6th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, based in Baumholder, Germany.

"Ever since Tom was young, he always wanted to go into the military," said Carol Brown, his mother. She said she and her late husband had insisted that their son first go to college. He graduated from George Mason University.

"He tried working, but he found life behind a desk was not for him," Brown said. So Thomas Brown enrolled in Officer Candidate School. In addition to earning an officer's commission, he earned Airborne wings and a Ranger Tab.

Carol Brown said her son, who lived in Burke, Va., was proud to be an infantry soldier. "Infantry meant everything to him," she said. By being on the ground and leading soldiers, he believed he could make the most impact and do the most good.

Carol Brown said she learned of her son's death Tuesday afternoon when a chaplain and another officer visited her home. She said she has tried to remain strong, for her mother and her son's twin brother, Timothy, who is a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Arizona.

Thomas Brown was due home for leave in 20 days and planned to spend time visiting his 85-year-old grandmother and traveling to the Caribbean with his girlfriend, his brother and his fianceé, and his mother.

Brown is the 43rd member of the military with Connecticut ties to die in Iraq or Afghanistan since March 2002.

==Additional news story==

BAUMHOLDER, Germany — First Lt. Thomas J. Brown, a platoon leader with 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, was killed by small-arms fire Tuesday while leading his soldiers on a foot patrol in Salman Pak, Iraq, the Department of Defense said Wednesday.

Brown, who lived in Burke, Va., was assigned to the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, which deployed to Iraq in April.

A memorial service will be Thursday at Baumholder’s Chapel One at 10 a.m.

Brown, 26, was scheduled to return home for leave in just 20 days when his platoon came under attack. He had planned to return home to spend time with his 85-year-old grandmother and enjoy time traveling with his girlfriend and family.

Brown was a 2004 graduate of George Mason University, where he majored in government and international politics. "He wanted to serve his country," Timothy Brown, the lieutenant’s twin brother, told The Washington Post. "He requested to be in the infantry. He wanted to make a difference."

"All his troops said he was a lead-from-the-front kind of person," Brown told the Post.

Brown’s mother, Carol, told The Hartford Courant that their son, who grew up in Shelton, Conn., had tried an office job after college. But his childhood dream of serving in the military was something he decided to pursue instead, opting to attend Officer Candidate School.

"Ever since Tom was young, he always wanted to go into the military," she said.

Brown’s mother said her son was proud to serve as an infantryman, leading soldiers on the ground. "Infantry meant everything to him," she told the Courant.

Brown is the fifth Iron Brigade soldier to be killed in combat operations since deploying earlier this year. Brown also is the third Baumholder soldier to be killed by small-arms fire in the Salman Pak area.