Michael A. Cerrone killed by I.E.D.

A 24-year-old paratrooper with Worcester ties, the son of an Army brigadier general, was killed in Iraq when a bomb exploded near his military vehicle, according to the Department of Defense.

First Lt. Michael A. Cerrone and a fellow soldier were on patrol near Samarra, Iraq, Sunday when their Humvee was destroyed by an improvised explosive device, according to the military.

First Lt. Cerrone, whose grandparents live in Worcester, is the son of Army Brig. Gen. James A. Cerrone, a special assistant to the commander of Fort Bragg, NC, and the 18th Airborne Corps.

The elder Cerrone grew up in Worcester and graduated from St. John’s High School and Assumption College.

The funeral of First Lt. Cerrone will be held in Worcester.

“If there is a perfect kid, he was the perfect kid,” said Janet Cerrone of Worcester, Michael’s grandmother. “He was never in trouble, always focused.”

First Lt. Cerrone, who was single and lived in Clarksville, Tenn., was assigned to Company A., 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division.

First Lt. Cerrone spent much of his youth at Fort Bragg, among other places where his father was stationed, before graduating from West Point in 2004.

Besides his grandmother and father, First Lt. Cerrone is survived by his grandfather Anthony, his mother and a brother.

From the Worcester Telegram