NARRAGANSETT, RI, USA U.S. Army SGT, HHSC 325TH MILITARY INTELLIGENCE BATTALION, EAST WINDSOR, CT 06088 AL HALLIA, IRAQ 08/27/2003
Army Sergeant Gregory Belanger loved cooking. “He was a whiz,” his mother said. “He was creative and could take whatever was in the refrigerator and pull out this gourmet dish from his soul ad his head.”
Belanger, 24, of Narragansett, R.I., died August 27, 2003 from injuries when an improvised explosive device struck his vehicle in Al Hallia, Iraq. He was the first soldier from Rhode Island to die in Iraq since the start of the U.S.-led military operations there.
His father said that Belanger enlisted in the Army Reserve and was called up to active duty shortly after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
Belanger graduated from Johnson and Wales University in 2001 with a degree in culinary arts before entering the Army as a cook.
Jack Bergersen of Wakefield, RI I worked with Belanger at the Coast Guard House, “I loved him like a brother. Greg was one of the best people I have ever met, and I miss him everyday. I thank him, and his family, for defending the United States from our enemies, both foreign and domestic, and you will always be in my prayers.”
Belanger was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Service Company, 325th Military Intelligence Battalion, U.S. Army Reserves, Ayer, Massachusetts.
He is survived by his father, Ed Belanger, and his mother, Cather Belanger.
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