Army Staff Sgt. Marlon B. Harper

Died April 21, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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34, of Baltimore; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died April 21 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when he came in contact with enemy forces using a rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire during combat operations.

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Baltimore soldier killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

BALTIMORE — A soldier from Baltimore was killed in Iraq over the weekend, the Pentagon said April 23.

Staff Sgt. Marlon B. Harper, 34, died in Baghdad on April 21 of injuries sustained during combat when enemy forces using a rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire attacked.

Harper was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Harper joined the military in January 1993 as an armor crew member and was assigned to Fort Hood since January 2006, a division spokesman said.

He was deployed to Iraq in October.

Harper’s military awards include the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart.

Harper was the father of three, his wife, Stacy, told The Washington Post on April 23. Harper was originally scheduled to return home in October, but then his tour was extended until January 2008, she said.

“He was a great, great person,” Stacy Harper said. “He died doing what he loved.” She and the couple’s children — son Dominic, 12, and twin daughters Jessica and Jennifer, 10 — live in Florida near her parents while Harper was in Iraq. He kept in touch with letters, e-mails and, when possible, telephone calls.