Army Sgt. 1st Class Raymond R. Buchan

Died July 1, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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33, of Johnston, Pa.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany; died July 1 in Ta’meem, Iraq, of wounds sustained from enemy small-arms fire. Also killed was Staff Sgt. Michael L. Ruoff Jr.

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Western Pa. soldier killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — A Western Pennsylvania soldier who spent nearly his entire adult life in the military was killed during his second tour of duty in Iraq.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Raymond Richard Buchan, 33, of Johnstown, died July 1 in Ta’meem, Iraq, of wounds from small-arms fire, according to the Defense Department.

Buchan was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany.

Buchan spent 16 years in the Army, his father, Richard, told The Associated Press on July 3.

Buchan, who also had been stationed once at Fort Hood, Texas, was redeployed to Iraq last fall, his father said.

Staff Sgt. Michael L. Ruoff Jr., 31, of Yosemite, Calif., also died from small-arms fire in Ta’meem on Sunday.

Raymond Buchan graduated in 1991 from Westmont Hilltop High School, where he played football and basketball, his brother, Philip, said.

“He loved his family tremendously,” Philip Buchan told The Tribune-Democrat in Johnstown. “He loved his work. He wanted to be there for his troops. That’s what he truly loved.”

A funeral service will be scheduled in Johnstown, family members said. Buchan will be buried in Erie, his wife’s hometown.

Buchan is survived by his wife, Laura, and their two sons, Hayden and Andrew, all of whom live in Germany, as well as his parents and a brother.