Keith J. Moore killed in noncombat incident

SAN FRANCISCO - A soldier who volunteered for a more experienced unit to speed his deployment to Iraq was killed in a noncombat incident in Baghdad, military officials said Tuesday.

Army Pfc. Keith J. Moore, 28, who was stationed out of Fort Drum, N.Y., died Saturday. No further details on his death were available late Tuesday, but the incident remained under investigation, Department of Defense officials said in a written statement.

Moore's parents said the Army provided them with no more information about his death and that the investigation could last up to two months.

Moore was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division.

He was born in Newton, Mass., and his family moved around the country before settling in San Francisco's Twin Peaks area in 1989.

He graduated from the city's Woodside International School in 1995. Clifford Moore said his son liked to play the songs of Jimi Hendrix and other rock musicians on his acoustic guitar.

Moore was eager to begin active duty and voluntarily joined a unit so he could leave for Iraq early, according to his mother, Susan Turley, a minister with the Veterans Affairs hospital in Palo Alto. His unit deployed to Iraq in August.

Turley said her son joined the Army looking for a challenge that would give him an opportunity to protect civilians.

In addition to his parents, Moore is survived by his grandmothers, Peggy Moore of Richmond and Marilyn Turley of Olympia, Wash.

Services were scheduled Oct. 29 at the Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno.

From the San Jose Mercury News