Army Capt. Ellery R. Wallace

Died August 28, 2010 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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33, of Salt Lake City, Utah; assigned to 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Aug. 28 in the Chaparhar district of Nangahar province, Afghanistan, of wound sustained when his military vehicle was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade. Also killed was Spc. Bryn T. Raver.

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Army capt. followed in grandfather’s footsteps

The Associated Press

In a post on Facebook, Army Capt. Ellery “Ray” Wallace once wrote that Afghanistan resembled the landscape in Utah, where he had lived and gone to college.

In another post, he told friends and family, “Well the good news is wait, is being here in Afghanistan good news?”

Wallace, 33, was a husband, brother, and father of four. On Aug. 28, he and another soldier died in Nangahar province. Both were wounded in a rocket-propelled grenade attack on their vehicle.

Wallace was assigned to Fort Campbell.

Before enlisting, Wallace followed his girlfriend to Utah. There he married and also graduated from the University of Utah with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and criminology.

He had dreamed since childhood of becoming a soldier, like his grandfather, his younger sister Jessica Bayless told the Salt Lake Tribune.

“He always felt the sacrifice for freedom was worth it, no matter the cost,” Bayless said. “He was protecting his family and his country.”

Wallace’s survivors include his wife, Janelle L. Wallace; four children, Liam, Adara, Kael and Ehlana, all of Clarksville, Tenn; and his parents, Elton DeWayne and Elaine Wallace, of Elkhart, Texas.

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Utah soldier killed in Afghanistan

The Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY — The Defense Department announced Monday that a Utah soldier has been killed in Afghanistan.

DoD said that 33-year-old Capt. Ellery R. Wallace of Salt Lake City died Sunday, a day after enemy forces attacked his vehicle with a rocket-propelled grenade.

Wallace was hit in Nangahar, Afghanistan.

Wallace joined the Army in 2003 and was assigned to the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division in Fort Campbell, Ky.

Another Fort Campbell soldier died in the same attack. He was 20-year-old Spc. Bryn T. Raver of Harrison, Ark.

Wallace is survived by his wife, Janelle L. Wallace, and four children, Liam, Adara, Kael and Ehlana, who live in Clarksville, Tenn; and his parents, Elton and Elaine Wallace of Elkhart, Texas.