Christopher M. Pusateri

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CORNING — Born on the Fourth of July, Sgt. Christopher Pusateri was proud to serve in the Army for a second tour of duty in Iraq — a tour that ended in a volley of bullets.

Pusateri, 21, of Corning, was killed Wednesday by enemy fire, said his mother, Brenda West, 39, of Corning. She does not know details of what happened.

“I know that he was shot and taken to the hospital in Mosul, and that’s where he passed away,” she said.

A 2002 graduate of Corning West High School, Pusateri served with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division as a mechanic who took care of an armored Humvee, said his stepfather, Chester West, 34. He was on a mission when he was killed, he said.

Pusateri is the second Corning area resident to be killed in the war in Iraq. Marine Corps...