Soldier killed by bomb in Iraq

HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) -- An Ohio soldier was killed in Iraq after he was struck in the face by shrapnel from a bomb, family members said.
Army Sgt. Charles Joseph Webb, 22, of Hamilton died Tuesday, his sister-in-law, Vanessa Foreman, said Wednesday. He had joined the Army shortly after graduating from Hamilton High School in June of 2000.
"He signed up for the military to be able to go to college because he wanted to become a teacher," she said.
Webb, who is survived by his wife, Stephanie, was in the 82nd Engineering Battalion, his family said. The Department of Defense did not release any information about the soldier.
"It's been rough," Barbara Webb, the soldier's mother, said. "He was our youngest child, our only son."
Webb's sister, Teresa, said military authorities notified their mother of the death Wednesday morning. She said her brother was born in San Antonio, but the family moved to Hamilton when he was in the sixth grade.
Their father, Conley J. Webb, was a veteran of the Vietnam War and Desert Storm. Webb's sister said he was home for a two week leave six weeks ago, and was scheduled to return from Iraq in July 2005.
"He was in Iraq since January of 2004," Foreman said. "He had been there for too long. He's loved and he will be missed."
The funeral will be held in Hamilton, about 30 miles north of Cincinnati, but no arrangements had been made, his mother said.