Soldier from Conn. dies in Iraq vehicle accident

Lantieri was supposed to come home over the summer, but his unit's deployment was extended, Miller said.

Lantieri graduated from Haddam-Killingworth High School in 2000 and earned a business degree from Western New England College in Springfield, Mass. He was serving with the Army's 25th Infantry Division in Baghdad, state officials said.

Miller said her son's body will be returned to the United States in five to seven days. She said the family has tentative plans to hold a memorial service at Haddam-Killingworth High School. A date has not been set.

The Defense Department said yesterday that Lantieri died Wednesday from injuries suffered on Tuesday. The circumstances surrounding the accident are under investigation, according to the Defense Department.

Governor M. Jodi Rell ordered Connecticut and US flags flown at half-staff until Lantieri is buried.

"I ask that we unite as a state to honor the sacrifice that Sergeant Lantieri has made on our behalf," Rell said in a statement.

Lantieri was the 39th military member with Connecticut ties to die in Iraq and Afghanistan since the wars began in 2002. The last, Army Private First Class Andre Craig of New Haven, died in Iraq in June. Two Connecticut civilians have also died.

Miller said Lantieri had a difficult early childhood with his biological family in the Naugatuck-Waterbury area. She did not want to elaborate. She and her husband, Jon, adopted him, and he grew up in the Miller family with a brother and sister.

His mother believes he enlisted because he wanted to see the world. "I think he was anxious to travel and explore," Kathleen Miller said.

After they learned of his death, Lantieri's friends posted notes on his MySpace.com page, calling him a hero.