Joseph Gage killed by roadside bomb

MODESTO — U.S. Army Sgt. Joseph Gage, a native of Modesto, was killed Thursday in Iraq when a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle, his family said Friday.

Army officials told the family he was in a Humvee leading a four-vehicle convoy in Baghdad.

Gage, two other soldiers and an interpreter suffered fatal injuries in the blast. The driver survived.

Military officials notified his wife, Samantha, at Fort Campbell, Ky., and on Friday sent a chaplain to meet with his parents at their home in southeastern Stanislaus County.

Gage, 28, attended Downey and Johansen high schools before joining the Army in 1997. He served with the 101st Airborne Division and was 11 days from completing his second tour with U.S. forces in Iraq.

Gage, his wife and their 6-year-old son, Michael, had planned to visit his parents next month. A trip to Las Vegas with friends also was planned.

"It sucks," said Randy Gage, his father. "He had 11 days left. He should have been coming home."

His stepmother, Tamara Gage, said their son was dedicated to the war against terrorism.

"He was a very good soldier, a good man, a good father and a good husband," she said.

It is expected to take two weeks to return the soldier's body to the United States. Funeral arrangements are pending.

The parents said Gage previously expressed a wish for burial in a military cemetery if killed in action.

From the Fresno Bee