65th Iowa Serviceman Killed in Iraq

Spc. Chad Groepper, 21, of Kingsley, died Sunday morning in Diyala Province as a result of wounds suffered from small arms fire, family members said. Groepper was assigned to 2nd Battalion 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division of Fort Lewis, Wash.

Groepper was the 65th person with Iowa ties to die in Iraq or Afghanistan and is one of 3,972 members of the U.S. military who have died since the beginning of the Iraq war since March 2003.

Groepper had graduated from Kingsley-Pierson High School in December 2004 and enlisted in the Army 12 days later, said his mother, Darcy Groepper. She and her husband, Dave, were notified of their son’s death by Army soldiers on Sunday, she said.

He wasn't scared of anything," Dave Groepper told The Associated Press. "That's why he was infantry." The father called Chad Groepper an "action figure" who always wanted to be in the front line.

Groepper's sister Denae, 26, of Granger, Iowa, remembers her kid brother as "a natural daredevil."

"A dirt bike, a four-wheeler, it didn't matter," she said. "Chad loved them all. He said they helped him to relax," Denae said with a laugh.

He had been serving in Iraq for nearly one year with an Army infantry unit and was scheduled to return to the United States as early as May.

Groepper enlisted in the Army after graduating in 2004 from Kingsley-Pierson High School. He leaves behind his wife,Stephanie and 4-month-old daughter, Clarissa.

Groepper's unit had been scheduled return to the United States as early as May. "We'd just been counting the days until he came home," his mother said.

His funeral will be at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday 2/27 at Kingsley-Pierson High School.

41 Troops Killed in August Including Iowan

From Reuters

Five U.S. service personnel were killed when a military transport helicopter crashed during a routine flight west of Baghdad on Tuesday.

The crash takes the death toll for the U.S. military to 10 in the past two days.

The U.S. military said the CH-47 Chinook helicopter crashed near its al-Taqaddum air base outside Falluja, 50 km (30 miles) west of Baghdad, while conducting a "routine post-maintenance check flight".

There was no indication whether it was shot down. An investigation is under way.

The deaths of the five on board the helicopter takes the total number of U.S. military personnel killed in Iraq since the 2003 invasion to topple Saddam Hussein to at least 3,699.

So far in August at least 41 U.S. service members have died, compared with a total of 71 for July.

A 22-year-old Marine from Fort Dodge died August 7th in Iraq. The Defense Department says Sergeant Jon Bonnell Junior died in combat in Al Anbar province. He served with the First Battalion, 11th Regiment of the First Marine Division out of Camp Pendleton, California. His family says it was his second tour in Iraq.

His mother, Donna Bonnell, said, "I was probably the last one that he called. I said to watch his back and he said, we all watch each others backs." Bonnell was scheduled to leave Iraq this fall.

Iowa Native Killed in Iraq

Pfc. Michael P. Pittman who was born in Davenport, was killed Friday in Baghdad, Iraq, from what his wife called an "ambush from a complex IED," or improvised explosive device, while he was on patrol in a Humvee.He had been serving in Iraq since February. It was his first deployment.

Pittman was born in Davenport and attended high school in Rock Island, Ill. He and his wife, Jennefer moved from the Quad Cities in 2005 when he joined the Army. He leaves behind four children.

The 34-year-old Pittman was a member of a Calvary Regiment based at Fort Riley, Kan.

Jennefer Pittman said her husband was a selfless person who cared about everyone and loved giving to people. She said her husband will be cremated and that a memorial service is scheduled for next week in Kansas.

He died for what he believed in. He died for his country," his mother, the Rev. Sandra Hughes, Rock Island, said Sunday.

Her son, who was living in Fort Riley, Kan., with his wife Jennifer and their four children, joined the Army for what it could do for him, said Rev. Hughes, of Road to Recovery Church of the Quad-Cities, Moline.

"He wanted some stability for his family," she said "He wanted what the military could offer him as a career."

The Pittmans also wanted to travel, and saw the military as a way to do it, she said.

Mrs. Pittman said from Fort Riley that her family and friends are keeping her company.
"I'm still in shock," she said Sunday. "Sometimes, it doesn't seem like it really happened. Other times, I'm bawling. I don't really know how to take this."

Services in the Quad Cities are pending.

56th Iowa Soldier Killed in Iraq

The Des Moines Register reports the death of David Behrle, 20, a U.S. Army soldier who was Tipton High School's senior class president and Senior commencement speaker two years ago, has been killed in combat in Iraq. Behrle is the 56th person with Iowa ties to have died in the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan since March 2003.

Military officials have not released any information about the Tipton soldier's death. But school officials believe Behrle was one of six soldiers killed in a roadside bombing in western Baghdad on Saturday. Behrle was in the Army and joined the service right after his graduation in 2005.

Behrle died Saturday night and the word of his death spread throughout the eastern Iowa community after Masses yesterday morning at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, where his family are members. He was the son of Dixie Pelzer of Tipton and John Behrle, who lives in Nebraska. Comments from his friends can be found at his My Space site.

Behrle is the second soldier from Tipton, a community of 3,155 in Cedar County, to die in Iraq. The first was Spc. Aaron J. Sisssel, 22, an Iowa National Guard member who was killed on Nov. 29, 2003, in Haditha when his vehicle was hit by enemy fire.

Update on 5/23: see this story from the CR Gazette

Pfc. Brian Botello's Funeral Service Wednesday & Pfc. Katie Soenksen's Thursday

For those who can attend:

Funeral services for a northern Iowa soldier killed in Iraq are scheduled Wednesday. Pfc. Brian Botello's Services are scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at Summit Evangelical Free Church in Alta. Barker Funeral Home 301 Alta Vista St Alta Iowa 51002 Phone: (712) 284-2141. Burial will be Friday at the Fayetteville (Ark.) National Cemetery.


The funeral for Pfc. Katie Soenksen will be 10 a.m. Thursday at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church, 4105 N. Division St., Davenport. Burial will be in National Cemetery, Arsenal Island, with full military honors. Visitation will be 3-7 p.m. Wednesday in the auditorium at Davenport North High School, 626 W. 53rd St.

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver ordered today that all flags in the state be flown at half-staff Thursday, from 8 a.m. until sunset, in honor of U.S. Army Pvt. First Class Katie M. Soenksen, 19, of Davenport.

The order applies to all U.S. and state flags under the control of the state, including the Capitol Building and flag displays in the Capitol Complex and all public buildings, grounds and facilities. Individuals, businesses, schools, municipalities, counties and other government subdivisions also are encouraged to fly the flag at half staff that day as a sign of respect.