Isle soldier buried in Philippine town where he was born
Associated Press
MANILA » A Philippine-born U.S. Army staff sergeant who was killed in Iraq last month while trying to evacuate wounded comrades was buried in his native town yesterday, the U.S. Embassy said.
Staff Sgt. Richwell A. Doria was killed Nov. 7 near Kirkuk by small-arms fire during an air assault and rescue mission, the embassy said in a statement. His death came one month shy of his 26th birthday.
A contingent of U.S. Army honor guards, led by Brig. Gen. S.G. Trombitas from the Special Operations Command in South Korea, provided traditional U.S. military honors at the funeral in Dagupan city, 112 miles north of Manila, where Doria was born.
Doria received posthumously the Bronze Star with V for valor -- the fourth-highest U.S. military award -- "for his courage as well as his quick and sound decisions under fire, which saved the lives of his squad of soldiers," the embassy said.
He also was awarded the Purple Heart medal.
"This is what he had always wanted to do. When he joined the Army, we tried to discourage him," Zenaida Anderson, his aunt, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Doria, of San Diego, was assigned to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 25th Infantry Division, based in Hawaii.
He is survived by his wife and 4-month-old daughter.