Vermont soldier dies in Iraq ambush
MONTPELIER, Vt. — Christopher D. Gelineau, a Vermont high school graduate who was in Iraq with the Maine National Guard, died Tuesday after enemy fighters ambushed his convoy.
Gelineau, 23, is the seventh soldier with Vermont roots to be killed in combat since the war began more than a year ago.
A 1999 graduate of Mount Abraham Union High School in Bristol, Gelineau was a specialist with the 133rd Engineer Battalion. Before being deployed to Iraq in March he lived in Portland, Maine, where he attended the University of Southern Maine.
“He was a very nice boy. He was patient and quiet,” said an aunt, Pam Gelineau of Eden, Wednesday night. “I don’t know what else to say.”
Gelineau’s mother and stepfather, Victoria and Jesse Chicoine, live in Starksboro, and his father, John, lives in Eden.
The families left early Wednesday for Maine to be with Gelineau’s wife of one year, Lavinia, Pam Gelineau said.
Those who knew Gelineau described him as a quiet, friendly, reliable young man who loved working with computers.
Gelineau was one of about 500 members of the 133rd Engineer Battalion sent for a one-year tour of duty in Iraq, based in the northern city of Mosul.
Several members of the 133rd, including Gelineau, were driving in a convoy Tuesday in Mosul, serving as a protective escort to military firefighters from South Carolina, Maine National Guard officials said.
Gelineau was in the lead Humvee when a roadside bomb exploded and heavily damaged the vehicle. Enemy fighters then began shooting at the soldiers.
Gelineau and three others were injured in the explosion and battle. Gelineau and the others were taken to a nearby military hospital, officials said. They said they were unsure whether Gelineau died of his wounds en route or at the aid station.
Gelineau is the first member of the Maine National Guard to be killed in Iraq.