Army Sgt. Gregroy A. Wright

Died January 15, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

28, of Boston, assigned to the 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.; died Jan. 13 in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations.

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Mass. soldier dies in Iraq

The Associated Press

BOSTON — A Boston soldier was killed by an improvised bomb last week in Iraq, the U.S. Department of Defense said Jan. 19.

Army Sgt. Gregroy A. Wright died Jan. 13 of wounds he suffered when the device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations in Muqdadiyah, 60 miles north of Baghdad.

The 28-year-old combat engineer was assigned to the 1st Engineering Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, based at Fort Riley, Kan.

Wright was originally from Jamaica and later lived in Boston, the Army said. He joined the Massachusetts National Guard in 1999 and went on active duty in the Army in 2004.

His father, Conroy Wright, said he often warned his son to play it safe in Iraq.

He recalled telling him: “Don’t try to be a hero, and just do your job, and if you can hide behind somebody, go ahead and hide — don’t be the one who’d be always in front,” he told WCVB-TV in Boston.

He also is survived by a daughter and an ex-wife, the Army said.

Fort Riley said a service was held at the post chapel Jan. 18 in Wright’s honor.