Army Sgt. 1st Class Russell P. Borea

Died January 19, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

38, of El Paso, Texas; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Bliss, Texas; died Jan. 19 of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during combat operations in Mosul, Iraq.

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Army sergeant from Tucson killed in action in Iraq

The Associated Press

TUCSON, Ariz. — A soldier from Tucson has been killed in action in Iraq.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Russell Borea, 38, died Jan.19 in Mosul when an improvised explosive device detonated during combat operations, military officials said.

Borea had been in Iraq since November with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, from Fort Bliss, Texas, according to the Defense Department.

His 37-year-old wife, Maria, and 10-year-old daughter were staying in Tucson with his wife’s family during his deployment.

“We’re a military family, so we know the necessity of the job and what dangers he was expected to face,” said James Watts, a retired soldier who was Borea’s father-in-law.

Watts described Borea as “a very soft-spoken, gentle person. He was a very calm man and a very humble individual.”

Borea was born in Connecticut and moved to Tucson with his family when he was young.

A 1986 graduate of Tucson’s Catalina High School, Borea joined the Army shortly before his 1995 marriage.

The couple’s only child, Marialena, was born in Germany while Borea was stationed there in 1996. He served in Bosnia and was in his first tour in Iraq.

Funeral arrangements were incomplete as of Jan. 22, but Watts said Borea likely would be buried in Tucson.

— Information from: Arizona Daily Star