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Reservist killed in Afghanistan

A noncommissioned officer was killed Oct. 31 by a roadside bomb in Helmand province, Afghanistan, according to his family.

Sgt. Cesar B. Ruiz, 26, of San Antonio, Texas, was an Individual Ready Reservist assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 1, Combat Logistics Regiment 2, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, according to a Marine Corps Forces Reserve release.

This was Ruiz’s second tour in Afghanistan. The combat engineer headed there for seven months in 2004, more than a year after joining the Corps in January 2003.

Family members told the San Antonio Express-News that Ruiz had been building bridges in Helmand. He spent his first tour detonating enemy weapons caches.

His personal decorations include a Purple Heart. Ruiz is survived by his wife and 1-year-old son.