ST. CROIX - The body of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Gregory Rivera-Santiago arrived on St. Croix via private charter flight Monday afternoon to a hero's welcome from his family and members of the V.I. National Guard, Air National Guard and the 82nd Airborne Division Honor Guard.

Rivera-Santiago, 26, whose family described him as quiet and tough, but sensitive inside, was one of seven paratroopers killed in a vehicle crash in Baghdad, Iraq, on Sept. 10.

Military officials said all were stationed in Fort Bragg, N.C., assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team. According to military officials, the crash victims were all traveling in an armored 5-ton truck that blew a tire, rolled off an overpass and fell more than 30 feet to the road below.

The wreck wounded 10 other paratroopers. The circumstances surrounding the crash are under investigation, military officials said.

Rivera-Santiago is the seventh Virgin Islander to die while serving in the U.S. military as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

On Monday, a delegation including family members, Gov. John deJongh Jr., Lt. Gov. Gregory Francis and V.I. National Guard Adjutant General Renaldo Rivera as well as other guardsmen waited on the tarmac of Rohlsen Airport as the pilots prepared to lower the casket from the aircraft shortly after 1 p.m.

The V.I. Army National Guard's Color Guard, followed by Col. Elton Lewis, the assistant adjutant general, led the procession. An American flag was draped over the brown casket. Serving as pallbearers, the 82nd Airborne Division Honor Guard carried the casket from the aircraft.

Rivera-Santiago's wife, Brooke Rivera; the couple's children; his mother, Carmen Santiago; and more than 20 of his relatives and friends followed behind.

His relatives, who all wore white T-shirts with a picture of Rivera-Santiago in Iraq on the front, held on to each other and some covered their faces, weeping as they walked to receive the body.

The procession moved slowly through a receiving line of Army and Air National Guardsmen who saluted Rivera-Santiago as the casket was carried to a waiting hearse from James Memorial Funeral Home. Some relatives wept openly but remained calm as they slowly kept pace behind honor guards and pallbearers.

After his wife reached into the hearse to touch the casket, she emerged crying and was consoled by a family member.

Rivera-Santiago will lie in state in Government House on Thursday morning at 9 a.m., and the funeral will be at St. Joseph's Catholic Church at 11 a.m.

Rivera-Santiago was born on Feb. 9, 1981, in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, but his family lived in Santurce. The family moved to St. Croix when Rivera-Santiago was about a year old and lived at Louis E. Brown Villas in Estate Paradise. He attended Evelyn Williams Elementary and John Woodson Junior High schools. During high school, he worked at Plaza Extra in Sion Farm as a grocery bagger.

Rivera-Santiago graduated with honors from St. Croix Educational Complex in 1999 and enlisted in the Army soon after.

Relatives said that he was shy and quiet growing up. His mother said she was surprised when he told her that he wanted to go into the military.

Over the years, relatives and people who knew him said they saw a change in Rivera-Santiago. He became confident and more eloquent, said a former employer. Santiago said her son was dedicated to the military and was proud to serve his country.

Rivera-Santiago's aunt, Juana Santiago, said after eight years of active duty service and two tours in Iraq, her nephew had talked about getting out of the service to be with his family.

Brooke Rivera said her husband left for his third tour in Iraq in February and was due to return home in November.

After the solemn ceremony, deJongh said there was nothing anyone could say to fill the gap left by the tragic loss of Rivera-Santiago.

"We have been robbed of a young person who gave their life in service to this country," deJongh said, adding that all Virgin Islanders are mourning his death.

V.I. National Guard officials said about 20 of Rivera-Santiago's comrades from the 82nd Airborne Division arrived over the weekend to perform duties as pallbearers and firing squad at the funeral.

Six other men from the territory have been killed in Iraq since the war began in 2003: U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Shane Goldman, whose father, George "Scooter" Goldman, lives on St. Croix; Army Staff Sgt. Kendall Thomas of St. Thomas; St. Croix native Pfc. Jason Lynch; U.S. Army Spc. Jose Emanuel Rosario of St. Croix; Lt. Col. David Canegata III of St. Croix; and Sgt. 1st Class Floyd Lake of St. Thomas.