Ulises Burgos-Cruz and his wife, Sarita, made an impact with their friendly and good-natured personalities during the couple’s five-month stay at Fort Lee.

“They were good people. They were a couple made for each other,” said Nela Feliciano, a former member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Prince George County.

Burgos-Cruz, 29, of Puerto Rico, was killed April 6 by a roadside bomb in Balad. He was assigned to Fort Riley.

Sgt. Carlos Roman said Burgos-Cruz helped the church choir record a Christian music CD. “He had a lot of talent for using recording equipment,” he said. “He had his own recording equipment.”

The choir shared time with Burgos-Cruz during rehearsals, dinners together and even shopping for a uniform for the choir, Roman said. “They were the kind of people that, unfortunately, you don’t meet every day,” he said.

“He was a charismatic and gifted person,” said the Rev. John J. Wagner III.

Sarita Burgos-Cruz is pregnant. The child is due this summer.

Roman said the couple lost three previous pregnancies because of complications and was happily anticipating their first child.