Four North Carolina National Guardsmen who served in the same battalion as local soldiers died in Iraq on June 29. It was the last day of regular combat operations for U.S. forces in Iraqi cities.

The soldiers, who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, died from wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle Monday, in Baghdad, Iraq the Department of Defense announced Thursday. They were assigned to the 120th Combined Arms Battalion, Wilmington.

Officials identified the men as Sgt. 1st Class Edward C. Kramer, 39, of Wilmington; Sgt. Roger L. Adams Jr., 36, of Jacksonville; Sgt. Juan C. Baldeosingh, 30, of Newport and Spc. Robert L. Bittiker, 39, of Jacksonville.

According to N.C. National Guard spokesman Matthew Handley, this is the N.C. National Guard’s largest single combat loss since World War II. Only 15 North Carolina guardsman have died in combat since Sept. 11, 2001.

“The North Carolina National Guard and the people of our state mourn today with the families of these fine soldiers,” said Guard commander Maj. Gen. William E. Ingram Jr. “The Guard is a very close-knit organization, and the loss of these brave men will leave a lasting impact on us all.”

According to 1st Sgt. Brian L. Webb, Company E 1/120th from Hamlet was already out of the city of Baghdad by Tuesday. The troopers who were killed were from Company A.

“As of yet, we do not have to move,” Webb told a Journal reporter earlier in the week. “We are located in the Fertile Crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.”

“Memorials and funeral arrangements are still in the works,” said 1st Lt. Matthew Boyle, assistant deputy of public affairs for the N.C. National Guard in an interview Friday “They’re four different families, and the might all possibly have different wishes.”

Three of the fallen soldiers -- Baldeosingh, Kramer and Adams -- were former Marines.

Adams served more than a decade as a Marine before joining the National Guard in 2006. Baldeosingh, a security guard at Carteret General Hospital, enlisted in the National Guard in June 2008 after serving in the Marines. Kramer, a firefighter in Wilmington, was a veteran of Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1991. He joined the National Guard in 1994 and deployed with the guard to Iraq in 2004.

Bittiker enlisted in the N.C. Army National Guard in 1990. This was his third combat deployment, having served in Bosnia and Iraq in 2004.

The 120th Combined Arms Battalion is part of North Carolina’s 30th Heavy Brigade Combat team, headquartered in Clinton. The 30th consists of 4,000 soldiers, mainly from North Carolina, with additional troops from West Virginia and Colorado. The 30th mobilized at the end of last year. . It is expected to return from the deployment in early 2010.