A soldier with Maine ties was killed in Iraq late last week, the Department of Defense announced Saturday.

Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan A. Lowery died of wounds he suffered during a gunbattle Friday in Mosul, a military spokeswoman said Sunday.

He was 38.

Lowery was a career soldier who fought in Operation Desert Storm and served in Kosovo. He was on his second tour in Iraq when he died, said Sgt. 1st Class Karri Bennett of the Maine National Guard.

Lowery grew up in northern Maine and graduated from Houlton High School in 1987.

He enlisted in the Army while he was still in high school, joining a program that allowed him to spend the summer between his junior and senior years at boot camp, said Bennett, the family's news media liaison.

Lowery is the 37th service member with Maine ties to die in connection with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Gov. John Baldacci ordered flags flown at half-staff on the day of Lowery's funeral in Houlton, which has not been scheduled.

"(Lowery) was a dedicated soldier and a brave man," Baldacci said in a statement issued Sunday.

Lowery was a member of an artillery unit in the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment's III Corps, which is based at Fort Hood, Texas.

His father, Winfield Lowery, lives in Houlton.

Bennett said Lowery leaves an ex-wife and two sons, ages 11 and 8, who live with their mother in Oklahoma.

He will be buried at Soldier's Hill Cemetery in Houlton, Bennett said.

Staff Writer Elbert Aull can be contacted at 791-6325 or at:

eaull@pressherald.com