08:05 AM PST on Friday, February 18, 2005

By JIM PARKER, kgw.com

GRESHAM -- A Gresham soldier was killed in Iraq when a roadside bomb exploded near his military vehicle, the U.S. Defense Dept. said Thursday.

Deuce Four Recon Platoon

U.S. Army Sgt. Adam Plumondore of Gresham while on patrol duty recently in Iraq.

Sgt. Adam J. Plumondore, 22, died Wednesday in the bomb attack that apparently targeted a U.S. convoy in the northern Iraq city of Mosul.

He was deployed to Iraq last October, three days shy of when he expected to leave the military, said his parents, Daniel and Elfriede Plumondore of Gresham.

Sgt. Plumondore did patrols and served as a sniper. A U.S. Army Infantry School magazine noted that he tied for third place in a U.S. Army International Sniper Competition in 2003, which pitted soldiers from around the world.

Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski ordered all flags at state offices flown at half-staff Friday in tribute to Plumondore.

“I am saddened to hear of yet another death of a young soldier from Oregon,” said Kulongoski. Plumondore was the 40th soldier with Oregon ties to be killed in the Iraq war.

“Oregon has lost an outstanding young man and a hero; a family has lost a loved one who represents the greatness of his generation," the governor said.

Plumondore had been interested in getting a college education, his pilot's license and becoming a police officer, his parents said.

He had been hoping to get permission to come home to Gresham on a two-week leave in June, his family said.

Plumondore was assigned to the U.S. Army's 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, based out of Fort Lewis, Wash.

A somber statement was posted late Thursday on the Web site of Plumondore's platoon.

"Sergeant Plumondore was a tremendous soldier, a respected leader, and a great friend. He was a man of great strength, unending talent, and deep compassion. His spirit will live on forever with the men here who loved him and served with him... we will never forget him," read the statement from the soldiers of the Recon Platoon.

Plumondore, a 2001 Gresham High School graduate, was a former track, football and baseball athlete who will be remembered as fun-loving, positive and an avid sportsman.

"He had a lot of friends; he was a three-sport athlete, so he knew a lot of kids that crosses a lot of groups. He was friendly with everybody," said Lonnie Wells, Plumondore's former track coach. "He was a good athlete, a good thrower for us."

(The AP contributed to this report.)