Army Capt. Matthew J. August

Died January 27, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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28, of Rhode Island; assigned to Company B, 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division (Mech), Fort Riley, Kan.; killed Jan. 27 in an improvised explosive device attack in Khalidiyah, Iraq.

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Capt. Matthew J. August believed he could make the world safer for future generations by fighting in Iraq, his father said.

“You can’t really weigh the life of your child in terms of what our country’s needs are, but I think he believed in what West Point taught — duty, honor, country,” said Richard August.

August, 28, of North Kingstown, R.I., died Jan. 27 when a roadside bomb exploded next to a convoy in Khalidiyah, Iraq. He was based at Fort Riley, Kan. He was an avid outdoorsman and a great trout fisherman, his family said. Officials from August’s high school described him as a quiet leader who distinguished himself with difficult coursework. At West Point, August met his wife, Maureen, and they married in 1998.

August’s mother, Donna, said her son was protective of his wife, who also was serving in Iraq.

“He doted on her,” she said.

— Associated Press