LISBON – A 20-year-old soldier who died of injuries sustained in a mortar attack in Iraq represented another tragedy for a family that already suffered a loss a decade ago.

Army Spc. Beau R. Beaulieu’s stepfather, Frederick Field Jr., was the brother of Staff Sgt. Thomas Field, who was dragged through the streets of Mogadishu, Somalia, after being killed in a firefight.

“I can’t even imagine how difficult it would be to have a couple immediate family members, loved ones, lost under these circumstances,” said Jim Bennett, a Lisbon native and friend of the Fields who is now city manager in Lewiston. “It has to be the most challenging circumstances anyone can go through.”

Beaulieu died Monday at Camp Cooke in Taji on the northern outskirts of Baghdad while serving with the 27th Main Support Battalion of the 1st Cavalry Division. The Army is investigating the incident.

His brother, who’s in Army basic training at Fort Knox, Ky., returned to Maine, along with their father.

Their mother, Dona Field, said Wednesday she has many wonderful things to say about her son, but she was too upset to talk. “It’s just too hard to get my thoughts together right now,” she said.

Beaulieu and his wife, Christina, were members of the class of 2002 at Lisbon High School and were married shortly before he left for Iraq.

Students and faculty members at Lisbon High School were informed about Beaulieu’s death by an announcement over the intercom.

Teachers told Principal Kenneth Healey that talking to the media about Beaulieu would be too much to bear.

“Most of the teachers said it was just too emotional,” Healey said. “He was revered and loved, and there’s just too much of an emotional attachment to be able to speak about him.”

In the school’s yearbook, Beaulieu said he was going into the Army as a signal support specialist for four years and then planned to go on to college.

“He’s a person who believed in what was right,” said Jill Hooper, his former English teacher at Lisbon High School. “Him being part of the Army just didn’t surprise me. He would have felt that was his duty and something he would be proud to do.”

Gov. John Baldacci contacted the family to offer his condolences and his gratitude to the family for its sacrifices. He said flags in Maine will be ordered flown at half-staff on the day of Beaulieu’s funeral.

“This family has given so much to ensure the freedoms of our nation,” Baldacci said.

Two soldiers from Maine died last month in Iraq, bringing to nine the number killed there since the fighting began.

Sgt. Lawrence Roukey, 33, of Westbrook joined the Army Reserve after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Roukey, a father of two, was killed in an explosion April 26 after a team looking for chemical weapons raided a Baghdad warehouse.

Six days earlier, Spc. Christopher Gelineau, 23, of Portland died in an ambush on a military convoy in Mosul. He was a student at the University of Southern Maine.