Hoosier soldier killed near Baghdad

NDIANAPOLIS – A soldier from Fort Wayne died of wounds suffered in combat in Iraq, the Department of Defense said Monday.\nArmy Cpl. Ryan A. Woodward, 22, died Saturday after he was wounded by small arms fire when insurgents attacked his unit near Baghdad, military officials said.\nWoodward was assigned to the 73rd Cavalry Regiment (2nd Brigade Combat Team) of the 82nd Airborne Division, based at Fort Bragg, N.C.\n“Woodward was athletic and very outgoing, he always liked to tell jokes and always tried his hardest,” said Spc. Ceasar Chavez, a friend and fellow soldier. “He loved his friends; we were all pretty close.”\nWoodward was a 2003 graduate of Carroll High School, where he played football and wrestled. He joined the Army in February 2006 and was later assigned duty as a Scout Javelin Gunner.\n“He was concerned about what was going on over there in Iraq with 9-11 ,” said his mother, Sue Woodward of Fort Wayne. “He was very proud of what he was doing.”\nHe is also survived by his father, Michael, a brother and two sisters.\nAmong other military honors, he had been awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.\nWoodward was the 91st Indiana Military Servicemember to have died after being sent to the Mideast for the war in Iraq.