Ft. Benning soldier killed in Iraq

The Defense Department on Thursday announced the death of Staff Sgt. Jeffery Lee Hartley, 25, of Hempstead, Texas.

Hartley died Tuesday of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated beneath his vehicle, according to the DoD.

Joining the Army in 2001, Hartley served as a radioman in the Signal Corps, with the 3rd Brigade at Fort Benning, near Columbus. He was unmarried and deployed to Iraq in March, 2007.

Hempstead is about 50 miles northwest of Houston.

(The Associated Press)

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