Maine Soldier Killed

Today's Bangor Daily News, April 8-9, 2006, reported the death of Army Spc Dustin Harris. Harris was a young Maine man from Patten, Maine, over in the County northeast of us, over on the other side of the North Maine Woods. The news of his death comes as a tragedy even for me who never knew this young man. He was the same age as my younger son and even attended the same college in Bangor that my son briefly attended, the same campus I attended when I studied electronics after my time in the service.
His death occurred in the Iraqi city of Beyji, about halfway between Baghdad and Mosul. According to one account, he was still inside his vehicle which had stopped for a foot patrol when an IED exploded killing Harris. Apparently he was the only soldier killed in the incident.
According to the report in the Bangor paper, Harris was proud of his work in the Army. Maine Senator Susan Collins is quoted as saying, "we honor his sacrifice in his dedication to serve his country and defend freedom across the world." Other sources speak of how his outfit was working to train the Iraqis to defend themselves while also searching for insurgents. We all know the current lingo.
I had never heard of Beyji before, or if I had, my memory hadn't retained the name. However, I found one website referencing the city of Beyji more than 80 times between June 12, 2003 and April 1, 2006. The website is called Iraq Pipeline Watch. It seems that Beyji is the location of a major pipeline junction and refinery complex. A map at the base of this website shows the strategic location of this Iraqi city.