Army Staff Sgt. Virgil C. Martinez

Died May 06, 2007 serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom

33, of West Valley, Utah; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany; died May 6 in Kadhimiyah, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using an improvised explosive device and small-arms fire in Baghdad.

Utah native killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah native on his second tour of duty in Iraq was killed by a roadside bomb, his father said.

Virgil Chance Martinez, 33, graduated from West Jordan High School in 1992. He had been stationed in Germany with the Army for eight years.

Virgil Martinez said his son, who was killed May 6, believed in what he was doing.

“The last time we spoke to him, he told us, ‘We need to be here,’ ” the elder Martinez said May 8.

“We have stood by him in whatever decision he has ever made and we believe he died doing what was right. He will never be forgotten and will always be missed,” the father said.