4253 - Updated with photo

02/28/09
DoD Identifies Army Casualty

Spc. Brian M. Connelly, 26, of Union Beach, N.J., died Feb. 26 in Adhamiya, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his vehicle was struck by an explosive device. He was assigned to the 40th Engineer Battalion, Task Force 1-6, 2nd Brigade Combat Team...

Update:

Brian Connelly and his wife, Kara, had known each other since high school. They had remained friends, but they began a long-distance courtship after Brian was deployed to Germany. He proposed by webcam in February of 2007, and the couple were married while Spc. Connolly was home on a 18-day leave from Iraq in September.

Brian and Kara had great plans for the future. Just hours before his death, Brian told Kara that his tour of duty in Iraq had been shortened by three months and that he would be returning to Germany in May. Kara will complete her pre-medical sudies at Monmouth University in New Jersey in just over a year, and Brian had hoped to get a construction job to help his wife pay for her education when his enlistment was over.

Source: IGTNT