DES MOINES, Iowa — A soldier who grew up in the western Iowa town of Glenwood has been killed in Iraq, military officials said Oct. 10.

Sgt. Joseph Milledge, 23, was among two soldiers killed Oct. 5 when a roadside bomb exploded near his unit as it searched for weapons in Baghdad.

Milledge leaves behind a wife and 1-year-old son.

“You couldn’t have asked for a better father or husband,” said the soldier’s mother, Carla Milledge, who still lives in Glenwood. “He loved his wife and son. He loved them with his whole being.”

Milledge graduated from Glenwood High School in May 2002 and later moved to Pointblank, Texas. He enlisted in the Army in August 2003 and was sent to Iraq for his first tour about a year later. His second tour began about eight weeks ago, his family said.

The other soldier killed in the explosion was 26-year-old Spc. Jason Marchand of Greenwood, W.Va. Both were assigned to the 3rd Squadron of the Army’s 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, based in Vilseck, Germany.

Mary Milledge, one of the sergeant’s sisters, said he did not want serve his second tour in Iraq but knew he had a duty to his country.

“He had a wife and child,” she said. “He didn’t want to leave them.”

The soldier’s wife, Amanda, gave birth to their son, Joseph Bradley Ryan Jr., in August 2006. When Milledge was home this summer, they had their son baptized.

“He’ll know his daddy was a hero and died for what he believed in,” Carla Milledge said.

His family said he was not in Iraq to fight a war but to help the defenseless, especially the children.

“Joey would want people to know that the soldiers aren’t just fighting over there,” his sister said. “They bring the kids water, play football, get involved with the schools. He cared about the humanitarian effect.

“At Christmas, he asked us to send toys and clothing for the kids.”