He leaves behind a wife, three sons under the age of 10 and a newborn daughter, all who reside in Hopkinsville, Ky. He was proud of his family and very proud of the fact that they had recently purchased a new home there, his father said.

Greg survived the initial invasion of Iraq, where he spent the first 11 months of the war on the ground, fighting against repeated insurgent attacks. He redeployed in January, and was back on the battlefield for four weeks before the deadly blast.

A chaplain from the U.S. Army delivered the news to the family in Midvale Wednesday.

"You see the ribbon on cars and trucks and flags in places and it is so abstract until it hits your family," Jerome Gourley said.

A simple star sign hangs in the window of the family's home to mark their loss.

"He was where he wanted to be, doing what he wanted to do with guys that he loved. Not a bad way to die."

Greg Gourley's body will be escorted to the United States by his brother early next week. His wishes were to be buried in the Murray Cemetery, where he will receive full military honors.

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Contributing: Stephen Speckman, Leigh Dethman

E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com