Family and friends bid their final farewell Saturday to a soldier from Mount Hope who died in the line of duty in Iraq.

Army Specialist Carlos Gonzalez Jr., 22, died in a rocket attack near Baghdad on March 16. Gonzalez spent four years of his life enlisted in the ROTC at Minisink High School and later joined the Army. He was a communications specialist with the 101st Airborne Division.

A fellow soldier read Gonzalez?s eulogy along with letters sent from other soldiers still in Iraq. He was honored as a fearless soldier whose laugh and smile cheered up all of his friends and will be remembered as hero in the eyes of the country.

Gonzalez?s parents say they will continue sending monthly care packages to their son?s base in Tikrit as a way keep his spirit alive. Gonzalez is the seventh soldier from Orange County to be killed in the war in Iraq.

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