Army Spc. Corey M. Shea

Died November 12, 2008 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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21, of Mansfield, Mass.; assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas; died Nov. 12 in Mosul, Iraq, when an Iraqi Army soldier wearing a uniform approached and opened fire. Also killed was Sgt. Jose Regaldo.

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Soldier dies in Iraq, Iraqi Army soldier blamed

The Associated Press

MANSFIELD, Mass. — A Massachusetts soldier has died along with a comrade in a shooting blamed on an Iraqi Army soldier.

The Defense Department said Friday that 21-year-old Spc. Corey M. Shea of Mansfield and 23-year-old Sgt. Jose Regalado of Los Angeles died Wednesday in Mosul after an Iraqi Army soldier, in uniform, approached them and opened fire.

The Pentagon said the circumstances are under investigation. Both soldiers were assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Hood, Texas.

Shea’s family told reporters at their home he had been in the Army for about a year and was to come home in January. He was a 2005 graduate of Mansfield High School, where he was on the hockey team.

His stepfather, Jeff Margolin, said Shea was well-liked and “was the gentlest kid.”

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Funeral held for Mass. soldier killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

MANSFIELD, Mass. — A Massachusetts soldier killed in Iraq earlier this month has been laid to rest.

A horse-drawn carriage bearing the remains of Spc. Corey Shea slowly made its way through the streets of his hometown of Mansfield on Monday. Family members, fellow soldiers and elected officials, including Gov. Deval Patrick and Sen. John Kerry, were in attendance at the funeral Mass for the 21-year-old Shea at St. Mary’s Church.

Shea was one of two American soldiers killed on Nov. 12 in Mosul after a uniformed Iraqi Army soldier approached them and opened fire. Six other U.S. troops were injured.

The 2005 graduate of Mansfield High School had been in the Army for about a year and was to come home in January.

He was buried at the Massachusetts National Cemetery in Bourne.

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Fallen soldier ‘would do anything’ for his brothers

The Associated Press

When Corey M. Shea came home from Iraq on leave in September, one of his priorities was to get a tattoo honoring a fellow soldier killed in combat.

Shea had the tattoo drawn on his right arm: “Fallen hero, Staff Sgt. Caldwell.”

“He got that,” said Shea’s mother, Denise Anderson, “and now he’s one of the fallen heroes.”

Shea, 21, of Mansfield, Mass, was killed Nov. 12 in Mosul by small-arms fire. He was a 2005 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Hood.

“Corey was very well liked,” said his stepfather, Jeff Margolin. “He was the gentlest kid. If he was in a confrontation, he would be the kind of guy to make peace and go on his way.”

An avid poker player, sports fanatic and video game lover, Shea had plans to study criminal justice at Texas A&M University.

“Those guys that he fought with over there, they were his brothers. He would do anything for them — and he did. He gave up his life for them and for everybody here,” said Shea’s mother.

“Anything they told him to do, he’d do in a heartbeat,” she said. “He looked out for people, he looked out for me, too.”

He also is survived by his father, William Shea.