CANANDAIGUA, N.Y. – A U.S. soldier who was killed in Iraq when he came under attack from rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire was a 29-year-old sergeant from this Finger Lakes town, the government said Tuesday.

Sgt. Heath McMillin was killed while on patrol Sunday south of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 105th Military Police Company of the Army National Guard in Buffalo, the Department of Defense said in a statement.

McMillin’s mother lives in Biddeford, Maine. U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, described McMillin as “truly an American hero to us all.”

“His bravery in action, his commitment to freedom and democracy and his loyalty to his country will forever be his legacy,” she said.

Forty-nine American soldiers have been killed in combat since May 1, when President Bush declared an end to major combat in Iraq. In all, 164 U.S. soldiers have died in combat in Iraq, 17 more than in the 1991 Gulf War.

The defense department said 176 members of the 105th have been deployed.

The unit left Buffalo in February for up to two years, the Buffalo News reported. The 105th was previously deployed on a peacekeeping mission in Bosnia.