Casualty had links to
isles’ 29th brigade

The Pentagon reported yesterday that a California Army National Guard soldier affiliated with Hawaii's 29th Brigade has been killed in Iraq.

The soldier was identified as Sgt. Alfredo B. Silva, 35, of Calexico, Calif., who was killed in Baghdad on Thursday when a homemade bomb detonated near his Humvee.

Silva was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment from Modesto, Calif. It is one of three battalions belonging to the 29th Brigade but is now under the control of 40th Infantry Division.

He is the second member of the 184th to die in Iraq since the unit was deployed to Iraq earlier this year. Sgt. Arnold Duplantier II, 26, of Sacramento, Calif., died June 22 in Baghdad while providing security.