Joseph Dumas laid to rest

NEW ORLEANS - Hundreds gathered Saturday to pay their last respects to a soldier killed in Iraq by a roadside bomb explosion.

Army Spec. Joseph Claude Dumas Jr., 25, of New Orleans, joined the military in August 2003 and was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood. He and three others in his unit were killed Oct. 18 in Baghdad when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle, military officials said.

A 1999 graduate of Fortier High School, Dumas earned various military awards including the Army's Good Conduct medal and the Global War on Terrorism service medal.

Holding large American flags that rippled in the wind, members of the Patriot Guard Riders - a motorcycle group including many veterans - stood outside First Emmanuel Baptist Church where Dumas' funeral services were held.

Dumas is survived by his wife, Kilyevska, and three children.

From the Sun Herald

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Joseph C. Dumas killed by roadside bomb