"Queens GI Killed In Iraq"
April 4, 2007 -- A soldier from Queens was killed in Iraq when he was struck by shrapnel from a truck explosion, his family said last night.
Army Spc. Brian E. Ritzberg Jr., 24, of Long Island City, died Monday, according to the Department of Defense.
His father said Ritzberg, a military police officer, had just been home on Feb. 21.
"Basically, he thought it was pretty safe in Kirkuk," he said.
The father said Ritzberg was inside a compound when a truck loaded with explosives and driven by a suicide bomber hit sandbags. "A piece of shrapnel got him," the dad said.
The elder Ritzberg said his son had thought about an Army career "but after being in Iraq, he wanted out." He planned to work in computers or as a cop.
"He was just a very good kid," his father said.
On his MySpace page, Ritzberg wrote that family was the "most important thing life has to offer. When the world turns its back on you they will always be there."
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