DaytonDailyNews.com

CENTERVILLE — A bugler played the somber tones of taps inside Church of the Incarnation as family and friends paid tribute to fallen Army Spc. David S. Stelmat Jr.

The 27-year-old soldier with the New Hampshire Army National Guard was killed in Iraq on March 22.

The Rev. Pete Helmlinger told more than 60 people who gathered for the memorial Mass on Friday, March 28, that Stelmat made the ultimate sacrifice.

"He died young, but he gave a full life," said the priest, referring to him as D.J.

Helmlinger said an online guestbook signed by those who knew him included a teacher who recalled how he used to make his classmates laugh to fellow comrades in Iraq whom he inspired.

"The one thing that stands out with D.J. is how much people loved him," Helmlinger said.

Stelmat had been in the Army and fought as an infantryman in Afghanistan. After he was discharged, he enlisted in the New Hampshire Army National Guard and served as a medic with the 237th Military Police Company.

He was killed with two other soldiers traveling in a Humvee when a roadside bomb exploded in Baghdad. They were with the 1132nd Military Police Company of the North Carolina Army National Guard, the unit Stelmat was attached to as a medic.

His father, David Stelmat Sr.; stepmother, Teresa; and siblings Eric and Stephanie live in Centerville.

A funeral service will be held Monday in New Hampshire, where his mother lives. It's where he spent most of his life and where he'll be buried.