WAR CASUALTY Medina soldier, 21, dies while in convoy

Dennis Grella said his son had mentioned the threat from roadside bombs.
MEDINA, Ohio (AP) -- A northeast Ohio soldier killed by a bomb while riding in a convoy in Iraq joined the military as a patriot with a goal of becoming an officer and earning money for college, his family said.
Army Reserve Pfc. Devin Grella, 21, of Medina, died Monday of injuries suffered when an improvised explosive blew up near his convoy, the Pentagon said Wednesday.
Grella, the son of Donna and Dennis Grella of Medina, was a member of the Army Reserve's 706th Transportation Company based in Mansfield.
He joined the Army Reserve in December and was sent to Iraq within weeks of completing his basic training in June, according to his father.
Devin Grella grew up in the home that the family built 25 years ago, attended Archbishop Hoban High School in Akron and graduated from Medina High School in this Cleveland suburb, his father said.
"He was a great person. He loved his church, he loved his family," Dennis Grella said by phone in between calls and visits from Devin's friends and former classmates.
He joined the Army Reserve out of a sense of patriotism and a desire to become an officer and earn money for college, Dennis Grella said.
"He had a love for his country," the father said.
Remembered at high school
Pat O'Brien, Grella's lacrosse coach at Medina High School, said Grella joined the team as a senior and was willing to handle anything, including playing at the junior varsity level when needed. O'Brien said the feeling he had toward the agreeable Grella as a rookie player in senior year was the same thing he felt when he heard of Grella's death. "Gee, I wish we had more time with him," O'Brien said.
Randy Stepp, who oversees the 2,400-student school, said Grella's death would be marked Friday when the school holds an in-house cable TV commemoration of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
"He was a good, fun-loving kid," said Stepp, who was assistant principal at Claggett Middle School when Grella was a student there.
Dennis Grella said his family regularly received e-mails from Devin about the war and mentioned the threat from roadside bombs placed by insurgents.
"I got an e-mail from him that morning [Monday]. He had talked about IEDs [improvised explosive devices]. It was a false alarm," Dennis Grella said.
Devin, who drove trucks providing supplies and fuel to U.S. troops, had been involved in convoys that hustled at 50 mph to 60 mph into Najaf during the recent heavy combat involving U.S. troops and fighters loyal to rebel Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, his father said.
Three brothers
In addition to his parents, Devin is survived by brothers Dustin, Darrin and Drew. Devin was the third oldest child.
Darrin has asked to speak at his brother's funeral even though his father warned about the likely emotion of the moment.
"He said, 'There are so many good things about Devin. I want people to be able to know about them,'" Dennis Grella said of Darrin.
Funeral arrangements will be made when the body is returned.