JAMESTOWN, N.D. (AP) - A North Dakota native who was killed while serving in Iraq was remembered by family and friends Saturday as a patriot and a leader.

Army Reserve Maj. Alan Johnson, 44, of Yakima, Wash., died on Jan. 26. Military officials said a roadside bomb detonated near his Humvee in Muqdadiyah, killing Johnson and injuring four others.

Johnson was assigned to the 402nd Civil Affairs Battalion of Tonawanda, N.Y. He was deployed to Iraq in April 2006. It was his first tour of duty.

"Alan lived and breathed his service to God, his family and his country every day," Maj. Gen. David Sprynczynatyk, commander of the North Dakota Guard, said during Saturday's memorial service.

Members of the Patriot Guard Riders motorcycle group stood outside First United Methodist Church in subzero temperatures, holding American flags. Those who spoke during the service inside the church described Johnson as a humble man, and a person of deep faith.

"How many other lives has he impacted that people don't know about?" asked his brother, Bryan, who told how Johnson had helped him in his personal struggles. "He's a soldier for the United States. He gave his life willingly, but he's also a soldier for Jesus Christ."

Gov. John Hoeven spoke of Johnson's work in Iraq as a civil affairs officer, helping to rebuild the country and win the trust of its people.

"Alan's was a life of service to family and nation and even the people of another nation," he said.

Hoeven presented Johnson's wife, Victoria, and parents, Wilfred Johnson and Mary Ann Hansen, with North Dakota flags that were flown over the state Capitol in the soldier's honor. Rep. Earl Pomeroy and Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., presented the family with three American flags that flew over the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

Johnson was born in Jamestown and grew up in Montpelier, in south central North Dakota. He graduated from high school there in 1981. He joined the National Guard in North Dakota, serving in Jamestown and Carrington units. His parents and two of his siblings live in North Dakota.

Johnson specialized in Army engineering when he joined the Guard in North Dakota, and he was a member of the Washington National Guard before transferring to the Army Reserve as a chemical officer and a civil affairs specialist, according to the military. He worked as a county corrections in Yakima.

Johnson will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington, D.C., on Wednesday.

"His grave will be marked by a white cross, and that white cross will be a symbol of so much," Dorgan said.

Johnson's death brought to 15 the number of U.S. service members from North Dakota or serving with North Dakota military units who have been reported killed while on duty in Iraq. Four others have been killed in Afghanistan.

Johnson is survived by his wife and stepdaughter Megan, both of Yakima; his father from Montpelier and his mother from Sanborn; his brothers, Wayne Johnson, of Brookville, Md., Bryan Johnson, of Bozeman, Mont., and Jeremy Hansen, of Eckelson; and his sisters, Marilyn Waddington, of Harrah, Wash., and Susan Roemmich, of Spiritwood.