
ALBUQUERQUE — A New Mexico soldier, who was scheduled to return home just days after the birth of his son, has died in Iraq.
Army Cpl. Joel Dahl, 21, died during small-arms fire June 23 south of Baghdad, said his stepfather, Joe Aragon, who has raised Dahl since he was about 10.
Aragon said doctors are planning to induce labor on Dahl’s wife, Alia, on June 29. Dahl was set to leave Iraq on July 2.
“She wanted to surprise him with his baby when he got here,” Aragon said.
The Dahls, who were married last September, already had picked out a name for their baby boy — Kayden Anthony — which they came up with...