Army Spc. Matthew T. Bolar

Died May 3, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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24, of Montgomery, Ala.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska; died May 3 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit during combat operations.

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Montgomery soldier killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A Montgomery soldier who volunteered for a second tour of duty was killed when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit, the Army said.

Army Spc. Matthew T. Bolar, 24, served with the 1st Battalion of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, based at Fort Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska.

Two others were seriously injured in the May 3 explosion.

Bolar was valedictorian of Canterbury High School in 2002 and joined the Army in 2004.

The family was notified of Bolar’s death May 3 by casualty assistance officers and a chaplain.

A Department of Defense news release said Bolar is the son of Anne and Vernon Adkins of Montgomery and Gordon and Elly Bolar of Kalamazoo, Mich.

Family friend Bob Thurber said he talked to Bolar when he was home between his tours of duty.

“He told me he was going house-to-house in search of insurgents,” Thurber said. “I think he knew what the dangers were.”

“A lot of people are suffering these days because of what is going on over there,” Thurber added. “Annie lived in fear that this day would come.”

Bolar’s family declined to be interviewed.