Army 1st Lt. Michael J. Cleary

Died December 20, 2005 serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom

24, of Dallas, Pa.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga.; killed Dec. 20 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during combat operations in Taji, Iraq. Also killed was Army Spc. Richard Junior D. Naputi.

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Bedford family mourns soldier’s death

Associated Press

BEDFORD, N.H. — A local family is mourning the death of a family member killed in Iraq.

First Lt. Michael Cleary was killed Tuesday by a roadside bomb. He was 24.

Cleary’s sister, Erin Cleary Flanagan, lives in Bedford. Her husband, James Flanagan, is a St. Anselm College administrator.

Flanagan says her family has been receiving sympathy calls from soldiers who say her brother saved their lives.

Cleary was 10 days away from returning home and two months away from marrying his high school sweetheart. Cleary was from Dallas, Pa., but based out of Fort Benning, Ga.