Army Spc. James C. Wright

Died September 18, 2003 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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27, of Morgan, Texas; assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 4th Battalion, 42nd Field Artillery Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas; killed Sept. 18 during an ambush by small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades in Tikrit, Iraq. Two other soldiers from his unit also were killed.

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Spc. James C. Wright was looking forward to becoming a father for the first time and was hoping to get home a few months after the birth of his son, expected in December.

“He was so excited about the baby,” said his brother, Edward Wright II. “Now he won’t ever have the chance to see him.”

Wright, from suburban Cincinnati, was killed Sept. 18 during an ambush in Tikrit, Iraq. He had served two years in the Army after four years with the Marines.

Edward Wright II said he had been planning for his brother’s return. “I was going to let him think I couldn’t get off work and then we were all going to be there in Texas when he got off the plane,” he said.

His wife, Alina Wright, also based at Fort Hood, knew one thing for sure: “I am going to tell our baby what a great dad he was,” she said, “and how good of a man he was.”

— Associated Press