A Schofield Barracks soldier has died of wounds he suffered when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his vehicle in Baghdad earlier this month, the Department of Defense announced yesterday.

Sgt. John K. Daggett of Phoenix died in Halifax, Canada, on Thursday. The 21-year-old was wounded on May 1, the Army said.

Daggett was being transported from Iraq to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., but the plane stopped in Canada when his condition worsened, officials said.

He was pronounced dead by a medical examiner from the Halifax Medical Center.

Daggett was the eighth member of the 25th Infantry Division's 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat team to die in Iraq since about 4,000 soldiers with the unit deployed there last December.

He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry and was part of the Stryker brigade. He served as a fire team leader.

Dana Zupke, who coached Daggett on the varsity football team at Pinnacle High School in north Phoenix, told The Arizona Republic newspaper that Daggett "was just a phenomenal, phenomenal kid."

"He was very outgoing and very bright and articulate. He was definitely a pleasure to be around," Zupke said.

Daggett joined the Army in June 2005 and was assigned to Schofield Barracks in November 2005. He was on his first tour to Iraq when he was wounded. The Arizona Republic said Daggett is survived by his parents, Jack and Colleen Daggett, and his sister, Kendall.