Jesse D Mizener

AUBURN, Calif. — A Northern California soldier died this week when a mortar round hit a Baghdad-area logistics base, officials said.

Pfc. Jesse D. Mizener, 24, died Jan. 7, the Department of Defense said.

In November, Mizener told The Auburn Journal newspaper that the mortar attacks were unsettling and all too common in Iraq.

“You miss home the most when you get mortared,” he told the newspaper. “It gets scary, especially when you see it land and see how close it is. That’s when you really think about home a lot.”

He is survived by his wife, Nicole, two daughters, ages 2 and 1, and a 2-month-old son, all of Auburn, Calif., about 35 miles east of...