Sgt. Jose M. Velez, who grew up in East Harlem and lived in the Bronx, was on a patrol in Kirkuk, 180 miles north of Baghdad, when the improvised explosive detonated near his vehicle, according to a Defense Department statement.
Newsday -- NEW YORK (AP) _ An Army reservist from New York City was killed by a roadside bomb Friday in northern Iraq, hours after celebrating his birthday, his family said.
Sgt. Jose M. Velez, who grew up in East Harlem and lived in the Bronx, was on a patrol in Kirkuk, 180 miles north of Baghdad, when the improvised explosive detonated near his vehicle, according to a Defense Department statement.
Velez was assigned to the Army Reserve 773rd Transportation Company, based in Fort Totten, N.Y. The reservist had an 11-year-old son and a 7-year-old daughter and turned 36 on Thursday, relatives said.
A cousin, Raymond Velez, told the New York Post the soldier was "a good father, a hard worker, disciplined, a good cousin, one of the guys who will always be there when you need him."
The soldier's wife, Evangelique Velez, said her husband was deployed about a month ago and had been with the reserves since 2004.
"I'm trying to be strong," she said. "His parents are devastated."
At least 2,493 members of the U.S. military have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.