Gregroy A. Wright dies of injuries from I.E.D.

Gregroy A. Wright came to Boston from Jamaica at 19, wanting to be closer to his father and to seize all the opportunities America had to offer.

After settling down on Tremont Street, making friends, and even applying for college, the young man decided that he wanted to show how grateful he was to be an American by enlisting in the National Guard for six years and later joining the Army full time.

On Sunday, Jan. 13, the combat engineer was killed in Muqdadiyah, 60 miles from Baghdad, when a bomb exploded near his vehicle during combat operations.

Assigned to the First Engineer Battalion, First Brigade, First Infantry Division in Fort Riley, Kan., Sergeant Wright, 28, leaves a 3-year-old daughter, Tiaja, his father, Conroy Wright , 51, said through tears yesterday.

"She was his heart," Wright said of his granddaughter, as he greeted relatives and friends who streamed through his door to offer their condolences.

"I keep wiping my eyes; I haven't slept," said Wright, a maintenance worker at the Boston YWCA. "My son, he walked proudly. He was so smart as a child in Jamaica. He took part in all his church services.

Full of ambition, Gregroy Wright was eager to make a positive life for himself, make a good living, and be a strong provider, his father said.

"I had such high expectations for him," Wright said. "He applied for Boston College, but then he changed his mind and said he wanted to join the Army National Guard."

Gregroy Wright signed up for six years, and he enjoyed military service so much that he joined the Army full time, said his father and friends.

"His mates, in the Army, they had a loyal soldier in Gregroy," said Doyen Dunkley, owner of a barber shop on Massachusetts Avenue and a family friend. "I was very close to Gregroy Wright. He was so laid back and easygoing. He saw how coming to America helped his father, so he decided he wanted to come here, too."

Army life became his true calling, Dunkley said.

"He was very proud to wear the uniform," he reminisced with a chuckle. "Even when he came back home from training, he didn't take it off for a couple of hours. I guess he liked the whole soldier thing. After coming here, he felt like a lot of immigrants from Jamaica do. He wanted to try and support America. He felt like he came here to get opportunities, and he knew that if he worked hard, he'll get what he wants."

Sadly, Gregroy Wright's dreams of life in America was cut short.

Last Saturday, Army officers, accompanied by a chaplain, knocked on Conroy Wright's door, and he has not stopped crying since, he said. "I've trying to hold up the best I can," the father said in a whisper.

Word of the death spread quickly.

"All kinds of people have called and come here since Sunday," he said. "My son, he got along with everybody, but I didn't know just how many people loved him until now."

A memorial service was held Thursday at Fort Riley in Gregroy Wright's honor, said a spokesman

From the Globe