Army Sgt. Heath A. McMillin

Died July 27, 2003 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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29, of Canandaigua, N.Y.; assigned to the 105th Military Police Company, Army National Guard, Buffalo, N.Y.; killed while on patrol July 27 when he came under attack from rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire south of Baghdad.

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Soldier killed in Iraq was from small upstate town

Associated Press

CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. — A soldier who was killed in Iraq when he came under attack from rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire was a 29-year-old sergeant from this Finger Lakes town.

Sgt. Heath McMillin was killed while on patrol July 27 south of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 105th Military Police Company of the Army National Guard in Buffalo.

McMillin’s mother lives in Biddeford, Maine. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, described McMillin as “truly an American hero to us all.”

“His bravery in action, his commitment to freedom and democracy and his loyalty to his country will forever be his legacy,” she said.

The defense department said 176 members of the 105th have been deployed.

The unit left Buffalo in February for up to two years, the Buffalo News reported. The 105th was previously deployed on a peace-keeping mission in Bosnia.