A soldier from Armstrong County has died in Iraq of a gunshot wound unrelated to combat, the Army and his family said yesterday.

The Army identified the soldier as Pfc. Joshua E. Waltenbaugh, 19, of Ford City.

He died Tuesday in Taji, north of Baghdad. His case was classified as a noncombat death and is under investigation, the Army said in a statement.

Joshua E. Waltenbaugh

Bonnie Waltenbaugh, mother of the soldier, said in an interview he was killed by a gunshot. Asked if she knew the circumstances, she said, "Yes, but we're not at liberty to say."

A spokeswoman at Fort Hood, Texas, Pfc. Waltenbaugh's home post, said she did not know how he died. An Army spokesman in Iraq did not immediately respond to questions.

Pfc. Waltenbaugh's job was to repair helicopter engines. He also was a member of the Downed Aircraft Recovery Team, his mother said.

He deployed to Iraq on Jan. 30 as part of the 4th Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment.

Pfc. Waltenbaugh married the former Misti Walls last year, his mother said. He and his wife were 2007 graduates of Lenape Area Vocational Technical School in Ford City.

He made straight A's in his field, said Dawn Kocher-Taylor, administrative director of Lenape Tech.

Pfc. Waltenbaugh enlisted in the Army while still in school. He went through boot camp between his junior and senior years at Lenape Tech, his mother said.

Motivated to help people, he was active in public service from the time he was a Boy Scout, his mother said. He helped build homes for Habitat for Humanity and was involved in the Make-A-Wish Foundation for children, Mrs. Waltenbaugh said.

Pfc. Waltenbaugh is the second Lenape Tech graduate to die in the Iraq war. Army Spc. William R. Sturges Jr. died in a car bombing in 2004 at age 24.