Army Sgt. Eric L. Snell

Died June 18, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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35, of Trenton, N.J.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.; died June 18 of wounds sustained when his unit came in contact with insurgents using small-arms fire in Baghdad.

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2 N.J. soldiers killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

TRENTON, N.J. — Two soldiers from New Jersey have been killed in combat in Iraq, the Defense Department said June 20.

Army Spc. Farid Elazzouzi, 26, of Paterson, was one of three soldiers killed June 14 in Kirkuk when an explosive detonated near their vehicle. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Infantry Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

Army Sgt. Eric L. Snell, 35, of Hamilton, Mercer County, died June 18 in Balad of wounds from small-arms fire in Baghdad. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

Snell was a star baseball player for Hamilton High School West and later played at Trenton State College.

“He was a good-looking guy, a great athlete, a great person,” Michael Toleno, a high school baseball teammate, told the Star-Ledger of Newark. “He died too young.”

Snell had two sons. The older one, Shameer, 17, lives with Snell’s mother in Hamilton; the other lives in North Jersey, according to the older boy’s mother, Lucretia Bellamy of Hamilton.

Bellamy said Snell joined the Army about two years ago.

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Soldier killed in Iraq remembered for love of baseball

The Associated Press

Army Sgt. Eric L. Snell was passionate about baseball and grew up playing the sport throughout his childhood, starting in Little League and the Babe Ruth league and continuing on to his varsity days in high school.

“Eric was an unbelievable ball player. He ended up getting drafted out of high school in the 54th round by the Cleveland Indians in 1989,” said John Costantino, who played against Snell in Little League and then was his teammate in high school.

Snell, 35, of Trenton, N.J., was killed June 18 in Balad, Iraq, of wounds from small-arms fire in Baghdad. He was assigned to Fort Carson, Colo.

Snell also played football and ran winter track while in high school. Despite being drafted by the Indians, Snell turned his attention away from professional baseball and looked toward college.

After graduating from Trenton State, Snell stopped playing organized baseball as he focused on a modeling career.

“I still remember seeing him in some TV commercials and print ads,” said Martin Flynn, Snell’s former coach. “He was a great looking guy. He was 6-4, 210 with that chiseled-out look.”

He is survived by two sons.