Army Cpl. Benjamin C. Dillon

Died October 7, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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22, of Rootstown, Ohio; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.; died Oct. 7 in Mosul, Iraq, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with small-arms fire.

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Northeast Ohio soldier killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

RAVENNA, Ohio — A soldier from northeast Ohio was killed in Iraq when insurgents attacked his unit with small-arms fire, the Department of Defense said Oct. 9.

Cpl. Benjamin Dillon, 22, died Oct. 7 in northern Iraq, according to a military news release.

Dillon, who enlisted in the Army during his senior year at Southeast High School in Ravenna, had been assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.

He had been home in nearby Edinburg Township about three weeks ago, spending the break with family, chatting around campfires and racing four-wheelers through woods. He rarely spoke about his duties in the Middle East, said sister-in-law Julia Dillon.

“I don’t think he wanted to worry anyone,” she said.

Dillon played baseball, basketball and golf in high school. He graduated in 2004.

“Bad things aren’t supposed to happen to such good people,” said Bob Dunn, Dillon’s high school basketball coach.

Ravenna is about 30 miles southeast of Cleveland.