Capozza, 23, a 2001 graduate of Cooperstown Central School, has been in Iraq for about a month, deployed as part of President Bush’s troop-surge plan. He and his men had been at the market minutes before the bombs detonated.

A U.S. solider from Delta company of the 1st Battalion-504th Parachute Infantry Regiment surveys the area after a car bomb explosion at a market in the neighbourhood known as New Baghdad, southeast of Baghdad, February 18, 2007. Two car bombs tore through a busy shopping area of a mainly Shi'ite district of Baghdad on Sunday, killing 55 people and wounding scores as militants defied a military offensive by U.S. and Iraqi troops. Photo contributed by Reuters.

``He told me some of his men had been buying candy there before it happened,’’ Capozza’s mother said Tuesday.

According to the Associated Press, ``The first blast tore through a produce market in the mostly Shiite area of New Baghdad, toppling the wooden stalls and leaving polls of blood and vegetables trampled in the chaos. Minutes later, another car bomb exploded near a row of stores.

``More than 129 people were injured, including many women who were shopping, said police and rescue officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media. Victims were carried to hospitals on makeshift stretchers or in the arms of rescuers.’’

The New York Times reported that 60 people were killed in the attack, with the bombs setting ``dozens of cars ablaze and causing the partial collapse of a two-story building that housed several electronics stores.

``The street was littered with charred televisions, satellite dishes and small generators. Shattered blue tiles, glass and blood were trampled together as the survivors tried to rush the more than 131 people wounded in the attack to the hospital. They wrapped the dead in rugs and blankets and whatever else they could find,’’ the Times reported.

As the bombs exploded, Capozza’s soldiers, a rapid-response force with the 82nd Airborne Division, were about a block away. A photographer from Reuters was with the American troops and captured Capozza, wearing his grandfather’s World War II Ka-bar knife, in one frame.

``He wasn’t hurt, and he was grateful his men weren’t hurt,’’ Ann Capozza said.

Dan’s older sister, Allie, returned home from a one year tour in Iraq last August. She is currently stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky., and is engaged to be married April 13.

``She’s scheduled to back for another year in August,’’ Frank Capozza said.

Ann Capozza said her son, a former Eagle Scout with Troop 1254 in Cooperstown, was upset by the carnage.

``He said it made him very sad to see what these people are doing to each other,’’ she said.

The market was targeted Sunday morning, Baghdad time, and Dan Capozza sent an instant electronic message to his parents hours later, when it was Sunday morning here.

``We were able to speak to him on the phone a week before, and last weekend it was through instant messaging,’’ she said.

Capozza, who was most recently home in November, contacts his parents when he is able to, she said. He had been scheduled to go to Iraq in June but was deployed early as part of the president’s increase in troops.

While in school here, he was an honor student and well-liked by his peers and the school staff, his parents said.

Scoutmaster Jim Gates said Troop 1254 met last week, and the Scouts are getting ready to send Capozza some of his favorite items.

``I’m sure we’ll have some Double Stuf Oreo cookies, a chess set and a pirate flag,’’ said Gates, who described Capozza as a ``marvelous young man.’’

In an e-mail to The Daily Star, former Troop 1254 Scoutmaster Hank Nicols said, ``He is an exceptional young man from an exceptional family. I am proud to know him. I honor his commitment to us, to our government and to our country. I hope and pray that he and all of our soldiers at risk are returned safely and soon.’’

Thomas Good, science department chairman at Cooperstown High School, said Capozza was an avid student, ``one of the good students and a pleasure to teach.’’

While in school, Capozza was a member of the National Honor Society, participated on the cross-country and track teams and attended Boys State and Outward Bound, Good noted.

His cross-country coach, Jessie Ravage, said Capozza was ``loyal to his team and very good to be around.’’

After graduating from Cooperstown, Capozza attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and was commissioned an officer in May 2005.

Being a soldier has been his goal for many years, said his mother, who worries for his safety.

``I’m pretty emotional about this, but it’s always good to hear his voice,’’ she said. ``Fortunately, we’ve been able to hear from him about once a week.’’

Frank Capozza said the outpouring of supprt from the Cooperstown community to him and ``about 20 other families’’ with sons or daughters in Iraq has been overwhelming and helps them get through the daily worry.

``The response to this latest episode was, as it always is, overwhelming,’’ Capozza said. ``I know I speak for all the families when I say all the thoughts are prayers are very much appreciated.’’

Crier editor Eric Ahlqvist contributed to this report.