Russell Borea

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The Army took Sgt. 1st Class Russell Borea away from Tucson. Now he's coming home to rest after being killed in action in Iraq.

Borea, a 1986 graduate of Catalina High School, is the city's latest war casualty, felled Friday in Mosul when an improvised explosive device detonated during combat operations.

He is the 24th person with ties to Southern Arizona to be claimed by the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Borea, 38, had been in Iraq since November with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division from Fort Bliss, Texas, a Defense Department news release said.

His wife, Maria, and 10-year-old daughter were staying in Tucson with the wife's family during his deployment. They got word of his death Friday night when two soldiers from Fort Huachuca knocked on the door of Maria Borea's parents' home.

Maria Borea, 37, is a 1989 graduate of Sahuaro High School. At the time, she went by her middle and maiden names and was known as Nikki Watts.

"We are getting along as well as can be expected," said James Watts, the fallen soldier's father-in-law, in an interview on Tuesday. His daughter declined to be interviewed.

"We're a military family, so we know the necessity of the job and what dangers he was expected to face," said Watts, a retired soldier himself.

Russell Borea was born in Connecticut to a family that moved to Tucson when he was young, Watts said. His father is deceased, and his mother now lives in Las Vegas, he said.

After high school, Russell Borea spent several years in civilian jobs, including a stint as manager of a local Shakey's Pizza Parlor. He met his future wife in Tucson and joined the Army shortly before the couple wed in 1995, Watts said.

"He wanted to make something of his life," Watts said.

The couple's only child, Marialena, was born in Germany while Russell Borea was stationed there in 1996. He also had served in Bosnia. This was his first tour in Iraq.

Soldiers from his unit were working overseas to train Iraqi soldiers and stabilize the region with combat patrols, the El Paso Times reported on Monday.

Russell and Maria Borea had a home in El Paso near Fort Bliss. The Times report quoted the couple's Texas neighbors saying they appeared to be a loving family.

Russell Borea "seemed like a very nice guy. He liked being a father," said a neighbor identified as Ken Wade. "You could tell he was a good man by the way he was with his daughter."

Watts described his son-in- law as "a very soft-spoken, gentle person. He was a very calm man and a very humble individual."

Though the war made his daughter a widow, Watts said he hopes the U.S. government will keep troops in Iraq long enough "to finish the job."

"I'm hoping they don't pull out and make his death in vain," Watts said.

"We've talked to a number of his platoon members and they all say, 'We have a job that has to be finished, and the public has to know.' "

Funeral arrangements are incomplete, but it's expected that Russell Borea will be laid to rest in Tucson, his father-in-law said.

Find a searchable database of those killed at go.azstarnet.com/casualties