2004
Chief Warrant Officer Patrick Dorff
Hometown: Buffalo, Minnesota, U.S.
Age: 32 years old
Died: January 25, 2004 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Unit: Army, 1st Battalion, 10th Aviation Brigade, Fort Drum, N.Y.
Incident: Killed during a search and rescue mission when his helicopter crashed into the Tigris River.
Army Chief Warrant Officer Patrick Dorff
Died January 25, 2004 serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom
32, of Minnesota; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 10th Aviation (Fort Drum); attached to the 3rd
Squadron, 17th Cavalry, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y; killed Jan. 25 when his Kiowa
Warrior helicopter went down in the Tigris River during a search for four soldiers whose watercraft
had capsized. Dorff was listed as duty status whereabouts unknown after the crash. His remains
were recovered Jan. 29.
Friends, family honor Minnesota soldier who died in Iraq
Associated Press
ELK RIVER, Minn. — He gave his life trying to save a fellow soldier.
So around 20 soldiers joined about 400 people Thursday for the funeral of Chief Warrant Officer
Patrick D. Dorff.
Dorff, 32, apparently drowned in Iraq on Jan. 25 after the helicopter he copiloted crashed into the
Tigris River during a search for a soldier whose boat had capsized.
A young soldier in the back row at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church clutched a tissue and wept. A
serviceman sitting beside fought back tears.
“I would like to acknowledge the military, all those who are around the world, defending the peace,”
said Rev. Daniel Walz, who conducted the service.
Some soldiers came from the Minnesota National Guard, while others came from Dorff’s unit, the
3rd Squadron, 17th Calvary, 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, N.Y.
“Pat’s last effort on this earth was to try the save the life of a fellow soldier,” his sister, Leanne
Rogers, told the mourners. “We will never forget our hero.”
The tone of the service was alternately somber and light. A representative of the Minnesota
National Guard presented the family with a Bronze Star and an Air Medal to honor Dorff, and
Dorff’s brother and sister recalled growing up in Buffalo with their brother, a free-spirited youth with
an uncontrollable laugh.
Chris Dorff recalled his brother’s fascination with flight. He had airplane wallpaper in his bedroom
and went to flight school in Minnesota before deciding to enlist and take flight training in the Army
so he could fly helicopters, Chris said.
Rogers said her brother was sent to Iraq to be a “sky cop,” doing air support for troops on the
ground and in the air, but he always assured his family he was coming home.
Dorff met his wife, Jamie, while he was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, and they had a daughter,
Brisa, in 2000.
At the conclusion of the funeral, Dorff’s casket was wheeled to the lobby, a white cloth removed,
and an American flag unfolded by the soldiers and placed over it.
On a table in the lobby was a booklet of messages, written by some school children.
“I am thankful for what Patrick has done for our country,” wrote one girl. “He risked his life just to
help us, he was very brave. My family and I will keep you and your family in our prayers.” She drew
two red hearts below her signature.
A boy drew two peace signs and some stick figures of people holding hands. “Patrick we love you,”
he wrote. “Hold hands with us, Patrick.”
Body of missing Minnesotan found in Iraq
MINNEAPOLIS — The body of a Minnesota soldier missing in Iraq since a Jan. 25 helicopter crash
has been found, his wife said.
The body of Chief Warrant Officer Patrick D. Dorff, 32, was found Jan. 29, said Dorff’s wife, Yamira
“Jamie” Dorff. Speaking from her in-laws’ home in Elk River, Yamira Dorff said military personnel
gave her family the news the same day.
Dorff was one of two men piloting a helicopter that crashed into the Tigris River in Mosul while
searching for four soldiers whose boat had capsized, the Defense Department announced earlier
this week.
Dorff, a 1990 graduate of Buffalo High School, was the son of Roger and Sharon Dorff of Elk River.
He and his wife have a 3-year-old daughter, Brisa.
Yamira Dorff said a service for her husband would be held in Minnesota. “They’re flying him to (the
United States) for an autopsy, and then they’ll bring him home to us,” she said.
Also aboard the helicopter was 1st Lt. Adam G. Mooney, 28, of Cambridge, Md.
The two men were the crew on a OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter, attached to the 101st Airborne
Division, based at Fort Campbell, Ky.
The helicopter was searching for a soldier missing when the boat he was in capsized earlier
Sunday while on patrol. The other three soldiers in the boat were safe, but two Iraqi police officers
and an Iraqi translator were killed.
Military divers searched the Tigris. Mosul is 225 miles northwest of Baghdad.
— Associated Press
Funeral held for Minnesotan killed in Iraq
by Mark Zdechlik, Minnesota Public Radio
February 12, 2004
A family portrait of Pat Dorff, his wife, Jamie,
and daughter Brisa. (Photo courtesy of Ed
DuBois, Wright County Journal Press)
Funeral services were held on Thursday in Elk River for Patrick Dorff, an Army helicopter pilot who crashed in
northern Iraq late last month and apparently drowned in the Tigris River. Dorff, who grew up in Buffalo, Minn., joined
the Army to gain flying experience and to earn money for college. The 32 year old left behind a wife and a young
daughter along with a long list of friends and admirers.
St. Paul, Minn. — Since Pat Dorff was deployed to Iraq last fall, his wife and daughter have been staying
with his parents at their Elk River townhome.
Jamie Dorff says three-year-old Brisa doesn't really understand what's going on.
"She knows something's wrong. She'll come up to me... she'll see someone crying and
she'll say, 'Mommie what's wrong with her?' Well, they're sad over what happened to
Daddy. She says, 'Oh, Daddy's dead.' And then she'll turn around and say, 'Oh well
Daddy's got a really bad boo-boo."
Jamie Dorff says, the day before the helicopter crash, she and Brisa saw and spoke with
Pat for about 2-and-a-half hours. It was the first test of a Webcam Pat put together on
base in northern Iraq and had Jamie hook up in Elk River.
"Brisa kept asking him, 'Daddy are you OK?' And he would be like, 'Yeah honey, I'm OK I miss you and I
love you.' It was upbeat and, you know, it was good," she says.
If the Army knows exactly what happened to Dorff, it has so far not shared the information.
"He was a hero. He was out there to try to save someone's life," says Roger Dorff, who says all he knows is
that on Sunday, January 25, his son, Chief Warrant Officer Pat Dorff, went out on a mission to rescue
soldiers whose patrol boat had capsized in the Tigris River in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
"Then they hit a wire. The helicopter was equipped with wire-cutting devices. We understand there was also
cable going across the river which would pull ferry boats across that particular part of the Tigris River. His
body was found four-and-a-half days later and the other pilot to this date has not been found," he says.
Roger Dorff says his son joined the Army after he graduated from Buffalo High School
in 1990 to earn money for college and to gain more flying experience. He got that
experience. Not only was he flying helicopters, he was teaching the procedures as well.
Dorff was formally commended numerous times for his work in the Army over more
than 13 years.
Everyone who knew Pat Dorff knew he loved to fly. He started at the Buffalo airport when he was just 14
years old. He had his pilot's license before he had a driver's license.
"It's tough for me to see him as a solider. Some of the pictures when he went to Iraq, when he had his helmut
on and a gun and all the gear strapped to him. I still see him as a little kid," says his brother. "We were
bunkmates. We had a bedroom that was wallpapered in airplanes that we picked out together. He was my
little brother."
Chris Dorff sits at his desk with a legal pad and pen. He's working on a eulogy for his brother. Chris says he
and Pat shared weekly telephone conversations for years, no matter where the Army took his brother. Chris
says those talks gave way to an ongoing e-mail dialogue when Pat deployed to Iraq.
Chris says he never even considered the possibly his brother would not make it home.
"He was very cautious. He always talked in his e-mails about how he was not ever going to leave the base
unless he was in his helicopter and fully armed."
Chris says his brother also was constantly trying to reassure his family that he was OK and taking every
precaution to protect himself. Pat's e-mails were also peppered with information about day-to-day life in
Iraq.
Buffalo High School English teacher Karen Swenson say Pat Dorff was an unforgettable student. Swenson
says she's not surprised he died trying to save someone else.
"When I think of him I think of the hat and the great big smile. He was this vivacious, outgoing, positive
kid," she says.
And a hard worker too.
Buffalo Aviation owner Susan Marsh hired Dorff when he was a high school student.
"I always remember him as that kid who had a smile on his face. He was kind of a fun kid, energetic. He was
kind of a slight kid. And I wondered if he would be able to push airplanes around. He had no trouble at all
and worked at hard as his job and he did as getting his license," she says.
In addition to flying, Dorff ran track and cross country and he played hockey. He also liked to hunt, water ski
and care for a variety of pets over his 32 years.
His widow, Jamie, says if there's any relief, it's that the military found Pat's body and she still has three-yearold Brisa.
"He's shown us courage and bravery, at least to me anyways now that I have our daughter to take care of and
he loved her very, very much and she was our miracle. And I know he's watching over her," she says.
Patrick Dorff is the fourth Minnesotan killed in action in Iraq.
The Patrick Dorff Memorial Fund has been established at TCF Bank.
Buffalo High School English teacher Karen
Swenson say Pat Dorff was "an unforgettable
student."
(MPR Photo/Mark Zdechlik)
Pfc. Matthew G. Milczark
Hometown: Kettle River, Minnesota, U.S.
Age: 18 years old
Died: March 8, 2004 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Unit: Marines, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Incident: Killed by a non-hostile gunshot wound in Camp Victory, Kuwait.
When Marine Pfc. Matthew G. Milczark graduated from his Moose Lake, Minn., high school in May, the homecoming
king left an impression on his teachers and classmates. "He was a leader here, one of those kids you would see in the
hallway who automatically had that respect from others," said Tim Caroline, superintendent of Moose Lake
Community Schools. "He was a good kid, happy-go-lucky and always smiling." The 18-year-old from Kettle River,
Minn., died of a non-combat gunshot wound March 8 at Camp Victory, Kuwait, the military said. His body was
discovered in a chapel, his family said. When he was home on leave, Milczark had dinner with Sherman Liimatainen,
his hockey coach since he was 8. "That night he told us, `Don't worry,'" Liimatainen said. "Matt was a kind and caring
person. He worked very hard. He had a lot of love. And he was excited about being a Marine." Milczark followed his
grandfather, three uncles and a cousin into the military.
Marine Corps Pfc. Matthew G. Milczark
Died March 08, 2004 serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom
18, of Kettle River, Minn.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 1st Marine Division, Camp
Pendleton, Calif.; died March 8 in a non-combat related incident at Camp Victory, Kuwait.
Marine dies in Kuwait
Marine Corps Times staff
A Marine private died Monday of a non-combat related gunshot wound while deployed with his
infantry battalion to Camp Victory, Kuwait, defense officials announced.
Pfc. Matthew G. Milczark, 18,. was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, based at
Camp Pendleton, Calif. Further details about his death were not immediately available.
His unit is among seven infantry battalions deploying this spring as part of a 25,000-Marine force
slated for the first of two seven-month Marine Corps rotations to Iraq.
Milczark, of Kettle River, Minn., joined the Marine Corps on June 24 and his personal awards
include the National Defense Service Medal, according to Camp Pendleton officials. He is the first
Marine to die in the Corps’ latest large-scale deployment to Iraq.
The last known Marine death in the war zone came eight months ago.
Lance Cpl. Cory Ryan Geurin, 18, of Santee, Calif., was killed July 15 when he fell about 60 feet
from the roof of a palace building in Babylon, Iraq. Geurin was assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th
Marine Regiment, at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif.
Pfc Matthew G. Milczark, USMC
Pfc. Matthew G. Milczark, 18, of Kettle River, Minn., died March 8 due to a non-combat related incident at Camp
Victory, Kuwait. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, Calif. The
incident is under investigation.
~~~~~~~
Marine killed in Kuwait was 'upbeat,' says stepbrother
Union-Tribune -- Homecoming king, football player, a leader and a good kid. That's how Pfc. Matthew G. Milczark,
18, from tiny Kettle River, Minn., was remembered yesterday after the Camp Pendleton Marine reportedly died
from a noncombat gunshot wound early Monday in Kuwait. Milczark deployed to the Middle East three weeks ago
with Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 1st Marine Division. The infantryman was found in a chapel with
a gunshot wound to the head. "When I talked to him 10 days ago, he was upbeat," said Derek Wood, Milczark's
stepbrother. "He said he just wanted to go to Iraq and help out and come back home." Milczark is the first San
Diego County-based Marine to die in the Middle East since thousands from Camp Pendleton and Miramar Marine
Corps Air Station began massing in Kuwait. In April, the Marines will replace the Army's 82nd Airborne Division in
patrolling a section of Iraq. Milczark's family said there was never a question that the young man voted Moose
Lake High School's 2003 homecoming king would follow his grandfather and three uncles into the military. After
graduation last year, Milczark joined the Marines and spent the summer at boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit
Depot in San Diego. He returned last fall to Moose Lake High, where he played football, hockey and baseball, to
crown the next homecoming king. Now he's going home to stay. "He's going to be buried next to his grandmother
and grandfather in Moose Lake," Wood said. "He told his father before he left that if he died overseas . . . he
wanted to be buried here." Moose Lake is near Milczark's hometown of Kettle River. The town of roughly 200
people is 107 miles north of St. Paul. "He had a very large family and he was much loved by all of us," Wood said.
"I miss him. We all miss him." The death is under investigation.
Matthew G. Milczark
Kettle River, Minnesota
When Marine Pfc. Matthew G. Milczark graduated from his Moose Lake, Minn., high school in May, the
homecoming king left an impression on his teachers and classmates.
"He was a leader here, one of those kids you would see in the hallway who automatically had that respect
from others," said Tim Caroline, superintendent of Moose Lake Community Schools. "He was a good kid,
happy-go-lucky and always smiling."
The 18-year-old from Kettle River, Minn., died of a non-combat gunshot wound March 8 at Camp Victory,
Kuwait, the military said.
His body was discovered in a chapel, his family said. When he was home on leave, Milczark had dinner with
Sherman Liimatainen, his hockey coach since he was 8.
"That night he told us, `Don't worry,'" Liimatainen said. "Matt was a kind and caring person. He worked very
hard. He had a lot of love. And he was excited about being a Marine."
Milczark followed his grandfather, three uncles and a cousin into the military.
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Age: 18
Gender: M
Service: Marines Active duty 2nd Battalion, 4th
Marines
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Rank: Pfc.
Stationed in: Camp Pendleton Calif.
Date of death: 03/08/04
Incident location: Camp Victory, Kuwait
Incident details: Milczark died of a non-combat gunshot wound.
Incident cause: Non-combat
Cpl. Tyler R. Fey
Hometown: Eden Prairie, Minnesota, U.S.
Age: 22 years old
Died: April 4, 2004 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Unit: Marines, 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp
Pendleton, Calif.
Incident: Died due to injuries sustained from enemy fire in Anbar province.
Marine Cpl. Tyler R. Fey
Fey Marine Cpl. Tyler R. Fey, age 22 of Eden Prairie, died in combat in Iraq on April 4, 2004.
Survived by his parents, Richard and Cheryl Fey; brother, Ryan (Kristina); grandmothers,
Virginia Snow and Irene Fey; uncles and aunts, Jeff & Linda Barrick (Noel, Jorgen), Al & Mary
Snow (Deborah Meaux, Michelle Vinar), Fred & Sharon Fey (Jennifer, Jamie, Jill), David & Kim
Fey (Allison, Andrea), Jim & Julie Fey (Wanda Kuechle, Brenda Grates, Nikki Speiser), Darlene
Loving (Char), and Clarence Fey (Helen). Preceded in death by grandfathers, Arthur Fey and
Herman Snow. Visitation Monday 4-8 PM at Dawn Valley Funeral Home (9940 Bush Lake Rd.,
Bloomington). Mass of Christian Burial, Tuesday 10 AM at Pax Christi Community (12100 Pioneer Trail, Eden Prairie),
with visitation one hour prior to the service. Interment Eden Prairie Cemetery. Memorials are preferred and will be
distributed to charitable organizations at the discretion of the family, in memory of Tyler. Dawn Valley Funeral Hm.
952-941-7686 www.dignitymemorial.com
Published in Star Tribune from April 10 to April 11, 2004
Pfc. Moises A. Langhorst
Hometown: Moose Lake, Minnesota, U.S.
Age: 19 years old
Died: April 5, 2004 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Unit: Marines, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton,
Calif.
Incident: Killed by enemy fire in Anbar province.
Marine Corps Pfc. Moises A. Langhorst
Died April 05, 2004 serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom
19, of Moose Lake, Minn.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 1st Marine Division, I Marine
Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed April 5 by hostile fire in Anbar province, Iraq.
Moose Lake honors second Marine to die in Middle East
Associated Press
MOOSE LAKE, Minn. — A month after burying a fallen soldier, most of this town of 2,200 gathered
again to say goodbye to another Marine killed in Iraq.
A funeral service was held Friday for Pfc. Moises (Moy) Langhorst, 19, who died April 5 from
hostile fire near Fallujah. In early March, Pfc. Matt Milczark, who graduated from Moose Lake High
in 2003 with Langhorst, died in a non-combat shooting in Kuwait.
Seven white-gloved Marines in crisp dress blues stepped carefully as they carried Langhorst’s flagdraped wooden casket from Holy Angels Catholic Church. The sharp cracks of the rifle salute
echoed through the nearby woods and hills. Slowly and precisely, a Marine folded the flag on
Langhorst’s casket and marched crisply around it to present the flag to the young man’s parents.
Langhorst’s father, George, a former Marine, saluted back at the flag presenter. Many who
attended rushed away from the church to shed tears privately in their cars.
“I can’t talk right now. I’m just not there emotionally,” said Heather Dahlquist, a Moose Lake High
senior who knew both soldiers.
Tim Zuk, a Moose Lake sophomore who played football with Langhorst, drew solace from
remembering his friend’s sense of humor and his leadership on the gridiron.
Some who came to the funeral didn’t know Langhorst or his family. “I just came to honor his
memory, to show that people are respectful of what he did,” said Scott Dahl of Duluth. “It’s sad. But
his family should be proud.”
Connie Frerichs shook her head as she stood on a hillside overlooking the funeral crowd.
“This is too much for Moose Lake to handle,” she said. “This is the second one in a month. We’re
too small of a community for this. Enough is enough.”
A sign outside Moose Lake High School read: “Moy, You will always be in our hearts.”
Langhorst also wrote a letter to his church before going to Iraq.
“I don’t feel the least bit nervous or concerned,” he wrote. “Between my good training and my faith
in God, I have nothing to worry about. Keep praying for 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines and I’ll keep
praying for good old Moose Lake. God willing, I’ll see you all this fall.”
Second Marine from Moose Lake area dies in Iraq war
Flags flew at half-staff at Moose Lake High School on March 7 for the second Marine from the
school to die overseas in less than a month, and the second from the state to fall in as many days.
Moises Langhorst, 19, was killed in action on March 5 somewhere in the Fallujah-Ramadi area of
Iraq, said the family’s pastor, the Rev. Larry Ladosser of St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church.
He did not know further details, but the area is a Sunni Muslim stronghold where heavy fighting
has killed at least 15 Marines since Monday.
Langhorst was the son of George and Judy Langhorst, of Moose Lake. George Langhorst declined
to be interviewed by The Associated Press as of March 7.
“We’re not talking to the media at this time,” he said. “We’d like three or four more days to grieve.”
Moises Langhorst graduated in 2003 from Moose Lake High School, where he was active in
sports, theater and music, and was a star on Moose Lake’s Knowledge Bowl team.
“He was a talented young man, that’s for sure,” Moose Lake school Superintendent Ted Caroline
said. Langhorst and one teammate went to the state Knowledge Bowl six years in a row,
competing against high schoolers even when they were in junior high, the superintendent recalled.
“The team was just phenomenal and he was a big reason,” Caroline said. “He was just a
warehouse-full of knowledge.”
Last month, the body of Langhorst’s classmate, Pfc. Matthew G. Milczark, 18, of Kettle River, was
found at a chapel in Kuwait. He died in a non-combat shooting, authorities have said.
Caroline said the two were good friends, had joined the Marines together and hoped to serve in the
same unit.
Caroline said Langhorst’s death was hard on the students and staff, coming as it did so soon after
Milczark’s, so they brought in substitute teachers.
“We kind of knew just from Matt’s death a month ago that it took a big toll on our teaching staff,” he
said. “Especially the ones who have children who are about to enter the military.”
Counselors from other schools and local churches were brought in for the students.
“They were well-known kids,” he said of Langhorst and Milczark. “They were very visible and well
liked, so it is hitting the kids hard here today. ... One is enough. To have another former student
get killed — kids have a lot of questions. There’s no easy answers to give them.”
Flags were flying at half-staff across the town of about 2,230 people, about 40 miles southwest of
Duluth in northeastern Minnesota.
Ladosser said the Langhorst family was doing well under the circumstances.
“They’re pretty solid Christian people,” he said. “They realize their son is with their Lord and savior.
He was doing what he wanted to do.”
Funeral arrangements were pending as the family waited to hear when his body would be returned
from Iraq, the pastor said.
The Defense Department did not immediately confirm Langhorst’s death.
News of Langhorst’s death came the day after the Defense Department announced that Marine
Cpl. Tyler R. Fey, 22, of Eden Prairie, had been killed March 4 in Anbar province of Iraq.
Fey was assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine
Expeditionary Force out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Langhorst, whose rank was not immediately available, was a member of the 1st Marine Division,
4th Marine Regiment, Second Battalion G Company based at Camp Pendleton.
Including Langhorst and Fey, six Minnesota troops have now been killed in combat in Iraq.
Langhorst and Fey were honored at the Legislature on Wednesday.
“Our thoughts, our prayers in the Minnesota Senate and the people of Minnesota, are with these
families at a very difficult time in their life,” Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson, DFL-Willmar,
said in a floor speech. “We want the families to know that we support them, the members of the
Senate.”
Johnson, a Lutheran minister, is a chaplain and brigadier general in the Minnesota National Guard.
He asked that the Senate stand for a moment of silence “to recognize these two heroes from
Minnesota who lost their lives while serving our country.”
— Associated Press
Pfc. Moises Langhorst, USMC
Associated Press ~~ MOOSE LAKE, MINNESOTA: A second Marine from northern Minnesota has been killed while
deployed in the Middle East. Moises Langhorst, 19, died Monday while on duty on Iraq. The circumstances were
unclear. George Langhorst, Moises' father, declined to be interviewed by The Associated Press on Wednesday.
``We're not talking to the media at this time,'' he said. ``We'd like three or four more days to grieve, then maybe
we'll talk.'' Moose Lake school superintendent Ted Caroline told KSTP-TV that Langhorst graduated in 2003 from
Moose Lake High School, where he played several sports and participated in theater. ``He was a great kid,''
Caroline said. The Defense Department did not confirm Langhorst's death. Last month, the body of Marine Pfc.
Matthew G. Milczark, 18, of Kettle River, was found at a chapel in Kuwait. He death was caused by a non-combat
shooting, authorities have said. Milczark graduated from Moose Lake High School with Langhorst, Caroline said.
``They were good buddies and had planned to go into the military together, and hoped to serve together in the
same unit, even,'' Caroline told the station. Caroline said Langhorst's death was hard on the staff. ``When we
notified staff this morning it was very, very difficult,'' he told KSTP-TV. Flags around the small town about 40 miles
southwest of Duluth were at half-staff Wednesday. Counselors were at the high school. News of Langhorst's death
came the day after the Defense Department announced that Marine Cpl. Tyler R. Fey, 22, of Eden Prairie, had been
killed Sunday after attacks in Anbar province Iraq. ``He was a kind and sweet kid. He was proud of his decision to
be in the service and serve as a combat engineer,'' said his cousin, Char Loving. Fey was assigned to the 1st Combat
Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force out of Camp Pendleton, Calif. Including
Langhorst and Fey, six Minnesota troops have now been killed in combat in Iraq. Although it was not clear where
Langhorst died, the military announced Wednesday that two Marines had been killed in recent fighting in Fallujah,
Iraq, to uproot Sunni Muslim insurgents there. A total 10 Marines are known to have been wounded since the
Marine siege of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, began early Monday, when one Marine was killed. The Marines have
not given a full casualty count, nor have they named those killed.
http://www.moysmission.org/thisismyson.htm
My son Moisés Albert Langhorst born January 28, 1985 was an answer to my prayers. Happiness for an
anxious father is hearing, “It’s a boy” and a healthy one at 9 lbs. 9 oz. Even at birth Moy’s wide-eyed stare
expressed the Psalmist’s words, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me
together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and
wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”Moisés
(Moy) was Baptized on March 17, 1985 in the name of the Father, and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit and upon receiving the Pastor’s blessing: Almighty
God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has given you the new birth of
water and of the Spirit and has forgiven all your sins, strengthen you with his
grace to life everlasting. Peace be with you…Moy began his journey with Jesus.
This indescribable most precious gift of faith was obvious to all who knew Moy,
as this blessing of grace and peace resonated throughout his nineteen years of
life. In the words of Christ, “But the seed on good soil stands for those with a
noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce
a crop.” Luke 8:15. Moy’s eyes were fixed on Jesus early by attending vacation
bible school, by the music and teaching of Sunday school teachers, through
hearing the Word preached by pastors, by being taught and confirmed in the faith by a devote Pastor who led
Moy to be eager to receive the saving truth and by the constant encouragement of his church family.
Enlightened and strengthened by Word and Sacrament Moy knew that his heavenly Father had sent His own
Son on a mission to save mankind from sin, death and the devil. The price for our sins was high and Jesus
would have to pay the ultimate price, a suffering death on a cross. “Greater love has no one than this, that he
lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13. Jesus Christ accomplished His mission and to all who believe
is the free gift of eternal life. When the time was right his heavenly Father called Moy to be on His mission.
It was one to: unite his parents, bring them happiness, be a big brother to Mathias, smile, laugh, be a friend,
love his grandparents, hunt deer with his uncles and cousins, play football, play handball, play with the
Humbuckers, serve his church, participate in Bible and Knowledge Bowl, and finally to serve God and
country as a U.S. Marine infantry Assaultman. As a preschooler Moy fervently prayed that our shallow well
would spring forth water so that, “his papa would not be so mad”.
Kindergarten he impatiently asked his mama, “when are they going to teach me something?” He thirsted for
true knowledge. Troubled about the constant turmoil in the Middle East at about
the age of 8 years old Moy wrote, “If Jesus were alive today he would live in
Isreal. He would own a white jeep with a dove on the hood. He would work as a
preast in Jeruslem. He would be a peace keaper during wars. Instead of dieing on
the cross, he would die in the gas chamber.” When his grandpa was on his death
bed, Moy, hoping for a glimpse of Heaven, asked him if he had seen “anything?”
Transitioning from grade school to middle school Moy was having a disappointing
time and in frustration asked his mama “why do we have to spend time here on this
earth when we have Heaven just waiting for us?” A concerned adult cousin asked
him about his decision to enlist when war seemed inevitable. He told her, “I’m not
afraid to die.”Just like his commitment to his Lord, Moy’s desire to be a Marine
infantryman was unwavering. When he was seventeen, he asked if we would sign
his enlistment papers so that he would be guaranteed an infantryman slot before he
went to boot camp. Surprised to hear one needed to sign up for infantry, I told Moy
that when I enlisted in early 71’ everyone who couldn’t test for anything better went to infantry and that he
being as smart as he was, he should go to college or at least consider a technical field within the military
(being a former Marine and seeing the Vietnam War on television I knew that during conflict Marine
infantrymen suffer and die more than most). Moy viewed Saddam Hussein as an evil oppressor of the Iraqi
people and believed that as a U.S. Marine he could play a part in ridding the world of an evil regime. My
wife and I discussed Moy’s request noting the many times we had said no--to staying out late, to being with
that person, to buying this or doing that; and always the faithful son, Moy had honored our desires. It was
time for us to trust in God’s workmanship and let our first son spread his wings. While the drums of war
were beating in Washington, we reluctantly signed Moy’s enlistment papers. Following high school
graduation in June 2003, we sent Moy off to Marine Corps boot camp along with a high school classmate.
Moy wrote us many letters of his boot camp experiences, always assuring us that even though he was now
away from home for the first time that he remained steadfast in Word and Sacrament. During a particularly
trying time towards the end of boot camp he wrote, “I am so scared for the Crucible. So much could go
wrong and then I’d have to be here longer…A strange thought. I am praying a lot. I’ve always tried to pray
for others before myself, but I can’t help worrying about myself now. Most of the other guys around me are
quite confident or at least pretending to be, but I don’t know. I am going to cast all my burdens on God and I
hope he gets me through.” God got him through!
Coming home on leave after boot camp, he was ever more mindful of God’s grace. He loved being a Marine;
he appreciated his family, his community and was evermore confident in his faith. He knew all good things
came from his Father in heaven. During infantry training, we received a letter from Moy saying that his unit
would be going to Iraq sometime early 2004. When I read of his imminent deployment to war, I fell to my
knees and cried. I don’t really know why but I did. Moy’s last days with us were over Christmas 2003. My
wife and I, knowing how much he loved to write, gave him a journal with “VICTORY” on the cover and
below it the Bible verse Isaiah 40:31 “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will
soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Inside at the
bottom of each page was a Bible verse and on the first page I wrote, “Just as Mary and Joseph were blessed
with a Son, Mama and I have been blessed with you.”
When I took Moy to the airport to return to Camp Pendleton, Ca. for final training before deployment, I told
him I really believed that this war in Iraq was ill advised and that I was without hope of a good outcome. Yet
young and idealistic I knew Moy was gung-ho regarding the U.S. involvement in Iraq. My honest feelings
aside, I assured him my love and support. True to his character, Moy was not offended, nor was he going to
argue with his papa, he simply pondered my words and said, “If nothing else, ousting Saddam Hussein and
our military presence in Iraq, may make it possible for Christian missionaries to enter with the Gospel
message of Peace.” I was awed by my eighteen-year-old son’s response. Once again, I witnessed that by
faith he saw beyond the worldly view of events and empowered by the Holy Spirit
he spoke with wisdom far beyond his years.
Moy’s unit arrived in Kuwait at the end of February 2004 to a staging area called
Camp Victory. The demeanor of Moy’s letters tell us that the time at Camp Victory
was a warning period for the young inexperienced Marines to get serious because
the training was over and soon they would be in the real thing. On March 5th, Moy
and his unit headed north destined for Ar Ramadi a city of 400,000 people. The
capital of Anbar Province had been relatively peaceful for a year. Moy wrote that
the Army unit they were replacing had not taken a casualty in six months and that
his convoy had detoured Fallujah because of the growing insurgent threat in that
city. Our Moy must have sensed his parents concern for his safety because in his
letters he always wrote a line assuring us that he would be fine.
On March 9th our small community was shocked by news that Moy’s hometown
friend that he had enlisted with had died in Kuwait. Our hearts reached out to the young man’s family but our
minds ached with concern for Moy. How would he react to the pressure of being in a combat zone and to
losing his friend? Moy had told us early on that he would not stand in line to use the phone and that he
preferred to write letters. Unable to wait weeks for a letter I contacted the Marine Corps asking if it was
possible to have Moy call home. Their first response was what one would expect, “Right! Your son is in the
middle of a war and you want him to call his mama and papa?” Even at the time, I too believed it absurd but
my parental instincts had taken over. After several phone calls and e-mails, a sympathetic ear told me he
would try to make it happen. On a Sunday morning just before leaving for church, our phone rang and it was
Moy! He said he was calling on a field phone after being directed by his Lt. to call home. He said he indeed
had found out about his friend’s passing but that it had yet to hit him as he was on constant duty. Sounding
exhausted, he assured us that his fellow Marines would take care of him and in his last words for us to hear,
he told us that he was still “dedicated to his mission.” A prayer answered we enthusiastically praised God at
church and knowing Moy’s church family was as worried about him; we announced that we had spoken to
Moy earlier that morning. We happily reported to our congregation that Moy was steadfast in faith and “still
dedicated to his mission”. Moy’s penciled printed letters were now arriving regularly to our rural mailbox.
The words reported an escalation of violence; mortar attacks and the enemy drawing first blood by an IED
wounding four Marines. On April 6, 2004 we were notified that PFC Moisés Langhorst was killed in action.
Moy’s letters continued to arrive in the mail, one of them containing his 10% tithe for his church. The words
of his letters did not ease the sorrow but comfort was found in the Words of Jesus, “Whoever believes and is
baptized will be saved…” We know that Moy was led by the Spirit of God and that he was not only our son
but also a son of God who had set his mind on things above. Moy is now where he always wanted to be, in
God’s glory and everlasting peace. Bound for glory through the victory won by Jesus Christ, all Moy’s
dreams are made real and all knowledge attained upon his arrival to his heavenly home. Alleluia! Alleluia!
Alleluia!
If you prefer, you may mail tax-deductible donations
to the address below. Please make checks to LCMS Foundation/PFC Langhorst Fund
The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Foundation
1333 South Kirkwood Road
St. Louis, Missouri 63122
Lance Cpl. Levi T. Angell
Hometown: Cloquet, Minnesota, U.S.
Age: 20 years old
Died: April 8, 2004 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Unit: Marines, Combat Service Support Group 11, 1st Force Service Support Group, 1st Marine Expeditionary
Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Incident: Killed when his Humvee was struck by a rocket-propelled grenade in Fallujah.
Hunting, acting and karate were all part of life for Lance Cpl. Levi Angell, one of eight siblings. "He was just a nice
kid," high school principal Warren Peterson said. "Kind of a quiet kid, kind of a quiet sense of humor." Angell, 20, of
Cloquet, Minn., was killed April 8 west of Baghdad when his Humvee was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. He was
based at Camp Pendleton, Calif. In high school, Angell was involved in drama and choir and was passionate about
deer hunting, fishing and karate, in which he earned a purple belt, Peterson said. He was the son of Loretta and
Gordon Angell Jr. Grandmother Lila Angell said her grandson was a religious young man who "just loved" his church.
When he had come home for Christmas, he had "just smiled from ear to ear," she said. "He was so proud of what he
was doing," she said.
Levi Angell
Cloquet Marine killed in Iraq
Associated Press
CLOQUET, Minn. - A 20-year-old Marine from Cloquet
has become the seventh Minnesota serviceman to die
in Iraq, his grandmother said Friday.
Levi Angell was killed earlier this week when his Humvee was hit by a
rocket-propelled grenade, said Lila Angell, also of Cloquet.
The military would not comment on the report Friday. Angell was not
listed on the official list of military casualties posted on the Web by the
Department of Defense. Casualties are typically made public well after
the family is notified.
Lila Angell said her grandson joined the Marines shortly after
graduating from Cloquet High School in 2002.
Including Angell, three Marines from Minnesota have died in Iraq this
week.
Lila Angell said her grandson came home for Christmas and ``just
smiled from ear-to-ear.''
``He was so proud of what he was doing,'' she said.
She described him as a religious young man who ``just loved'' his
church.
Funeral arrangements were pending.
Another Marine from northeastern Minnesota, Pfc. Moises Langhorst of
Moose Lake, was killed this week. A Marine from Eden Prairie, Cpl.
Tyler Fey, was killed by hostile fire last Sunday.
Fey was assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine
Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary
Force out of Camp Pendleton, Calif. Langhorst was a member of the
2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 1st Marine Division, also of the Marine
Expeditionary Force based at Camp Pendleton.
Angell's rank and unit weren't immediately clear. News of Angell's
death came a year after Saddam Hussein's statue was toppled in a
central
Baghdad square, signaling his ouster. Yet recently Marines have been
battling Sunni Muslims
west of the capital and coalition forces are trying to put down a Shiite
uprising across central and southern Iraq.
Marine Lance Cpl. Levi T Angell
Died April 08, 2004 serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom
20, of Saint Louis, Minn.; assigned to Combat Service Support Group 11, 1st Force
Service Support Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed
April 8 by hostile fire in Anbar province, Iraq.
Marine from Cloquet remembered
Associated Press
CLOQUET, Minn. — A few weeks before his death in combat in Iraq, Lance Cpl. Levi
Angell sent his pastor a letter.
It had a tone of urgency and, perhaps, fear and loneliness, the Rev. Thomas Brinkley
told about 500 people who attended Angell’s funeral Tuesday, including Gov. Tim
Pawlenty.
Angell was a proud Marine who was thankful for his faith, Brinkley said. But he was
having a difficult time with it, as any 20-year-old suddenly confronted with the realities of
war would, Brinkley said. In the end, the pastor said he believes Angell just wanted
reassurance that Jesus loved him.
In an often-choked voice, Brinkley said the loss of the mischievous and affectionate kid
was a painful reminder that freedoms come with a high price.
“Well done, good and faithful Marine,” Brinkley said. “Well done, good and faithful
servant of the Lord. The victory is Levi’s.”
Angell’s burial will be at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.
He died April 8 in Abu Ghurayb on the road to Fallujah. The Humvee he was driving was
hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. He was assigned to Combat Service Support Group
11, 1st Force Service Support Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp
Pendleton, Calif.
Angell’s father, Gordon Angell, said Tuesday it would be another four to six weeks before
they learned more details about his son’s death.
He was the third Marine from Carlton County to die in the Gulf region in less than a
month. Pfc. Moises Langhorst, 19, of Moose Lake was killed in combat April 5.
Langhorst’s friend and classmate at Moose Lake High School, Pfc. Matthew G. Milczark,
18, of Kettle River was found dead from a noncombat shooting at a chapel in Kuwait on
March 7.
Angell received full military honors at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church. His casket was
draped in an American flag, and several members of Angell’s unit who are not stationed
in Iraq served as pallbearers.
At the service’s end, a Marine sergeant conducted a roll call of the present unit
members. When he got to Angell’s name, there was no answer. He repeated it twice
more, but louder, as though he was simply calling a straggler back into the ranks.
Outside, another Marine squad fired a 21-gun salute as a bugler played “Taps.” With a
hint of gunsmoke still in the air, Angell’s mother, Loretta, received the flag, which was
ceremoniously folded into a triangle.
Angell’s parents are living in a nightmare from which they can’t awaken, his father said.
But while he said he misses his son dearly, they consider him a hero.
Another comfort has come from the hundreds of letters and calls they have received
nonstop since word of his death spread, he said. Some came from as far as Germany
and Australia.
“We got a letter from a Marine who was with him” the day he died, Gordon Angell said.
“He said, ‘He was always happy, always smiling. Levi brought his happiness here and
spread it around. When he left, he left his happiness. It’s still here.”’
Levi Angell entered the Marines after graduating from Cloquet High School in 2002.
“He was proud to be in the Marine Corps,” said one of his best friends, Robert Hansen
III. “Now, I just wish I had gone there with him, that I could have been serving there, too.
It just feels like I’m missing a family member.”
The last time Hansen saw Angell was when he was home for the holidays. On New
Year’s Eve, they hung out and watched movies. Levi knew that when he got back to
Camp Pendleton in California that he’d be off to Iraq, Hansen said.
The friends didn’t talk about the dangers, though.
“We knew where he was going,” he said. “We just left it at that.”
Seventh Minnesota serviceman killed in Iraq
CLOQUET, Minn. — A 20-year-old Marine from this northeastern Minnesota town has
become the seventh Minnesota serviceman to die in Iraq, his grandmother said.
Levi Angell was killed when his Humvee was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, said Lila
Angell, also of Cloquet. She said her grandson joined the Marines shortly after
graduating from Cloquet High School in 2002.
Including Angell, three Marines from Minnesota have died in Iraq this week.
Lila Angell said her grandson came home for Christmas and “just smiled from ear-toear.”
“He was so proud of what he was doing,” she said.
She described him as a religious young man who “just loved” his church.
Funeral arrangements were pending.
Another Marine from northeastern Minnesota, Pfc. Moises Langhorst of Moose Lake,
was killed this week. A Marine from Eden Prairie, Cpl. Tyler Fey, was killed by hostile fire
last Sunday.
Fey was assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine
Expeditionary Force out of Camp Pendleton, Calif. Langhorst was a member of the 2nd
Battalion, 4th Marines, 1st Marine Division, also of the Marine Expeditionary Force based
at Camp Pendleton.
Angell’s rank and unit weren’t immediately clear.
News of Angell’s death came a year after Saddam Hussein’s statue was toppled in a
central Baghdad square, signaling his ouster. Yet recently Marines have been battling
Sunni Muslims west of the capital and coalition forces are trying to put down a Shiite
uprising across central and southern Iraq.
— Associated Press
UNION-TRIBUNE
April 21, 2004
Age 20
When the Marine recruiters showed up at Cloquet High School in Carlton County, Minn., a couple of
years ago, Levi Angell wasn't shy about his intentions.
The good-natured kid who excelled in everything from acting to fishing joined the Marines in 2002
after earning his diploma.
Lance Cpl. Angell, 20, was killed on the road to Fallujah – just outside Baghdad in Abu Ghurayb – on
April 8 when the Humvee he was driving was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.
Angell was the third Marine from Carlton County to die in the Persian Gulf in about a month. He is
also among at least seven Minnesotans to die in the war.
"We have had a huge outpouring of support," said Cloquet High School principal Warren Peterson.
"For a lot of our kids, Levi was a young man they could identify with. They see themselves and they
see that he died too young."
One of eight children, Angell was from a close-knit family in a close-knit community, Peterson said.
Two of Angell's sisters attend Cloquet High School.
"There are plenty of people who were shocked by this," Peterson said. "It's impacted many, many
people."
At the school, Angell was known for his quick wit and his involvement in a variety of seemingly
incongruent activities. He sang in the choir and he hunted deer. He was active in drama and he had a
passion for martial arts.
Angell joined the Marines in September 2002. He served in Kuwait last year. His second tour of duty
in the Persian Gulf began when he was deployed in February from Camp Pendleton. The logistics
vehicle system operator was assigned to Combat Service Support Battalion 1, Combat Service Support
Group 11, 1st Force Service Support Group.
Angell died in Iraq's Anbar province. Just days earlier, Pfc. Moises Langhorst, 19, of Moose Lake,
Minn., in Carlton County, was killed in that same region. And last month, Langhorst's high school
classmate, Pfc. Matthew G. Milczark, died in a noncombat shooting in Kuwait.
"All of the sudden people here have plenty of connections to this world situation," Peterson said.
– Maureen Magee
Spec. James J. Holmes
Hometown: East Grand Forks, Minnesota, U.S.
Age: 28 years old
Died: May 8, 2004 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Unit: Army National Guard, C Company, 141st Engineer Combat Battalion, Army National Guard, Hettinger, N.D.
Incident: Died in Landtuhl, Germany from injuries sustained when a makeshift bomb detonated near his vehicle
on May 3.
Raised in Arizona, James Holmes moved north to attend the University of North Dakota flight school. He joined the
North Dakota National Guard and volunteered to serve in Iraq. "He volunteered in the old patriotic way and wanted
to get over there and help any way he could," said friend Chris Green. Spc. Holmes, 28, of East Grand Forks, Minn.,
died May 8, five days after a roadside bomb exploded while he was on vehicle patrol. Holmes worked for Valley
Petroleum in Grand Forks when he was deployed. Holmes graduated from high school in Peoria, Ariz., in 1994, and
earned a bachelor's degree from Arizona State University in 2000. "He was selfless," said Patty Fusco, a family
spokeswoman. "He thought of himself last. That was just his character, just the way he was. He always thought of
others first." Survivors include his parents, George and Rhonda Holmes.
James Holmes
James Holmes, age 28, passed away while serving our country in lraq. Mr. Holmes
was a proud American dedicated to the freedom of our country. James was a
Graduate of ASU and is survived by his parents George and Rhonda Holmes, Brother
Randy, and Grandparents Richard and Anita Gigliotti. A Life Remembrance and Memorial Service will be held on
Sunday, May 16, 2004 from 6-8pm at the Phoenix Memorial Mortuary Chapel, 200 W. Beardsley Rd., Phoenix, AZ.
Military Graveside rites will be conducted on Monday, May 17, 2004 at 11:00am at the Arizona National Memorial
Cemetery, 23029 N. Cave Creek Rd., Phoenix, AZ. Published in The Arizona Republic on May 14, 2004
Army Spc. James J. Holmes
Died May 08, 2004 serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom
28, of East Grand Forks, Minn.; assigned to C Company, 141st Engineer Combat Battalion, North
Dakota National Guard, Hettinger, N.D.; died May 8 in Landstuhl, Germany, from injuries sustained
on May 3 when an improvised explosive device detonated near the driver side of his military
vehicle in Iraq.
Family, friends remember soldier killed in Iraq
Associated Press
GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Dignitaries, friends and family members paid their respects Thursday to
a North Dakota National Guard soldier killed in Iraq.
Spec. James Holmes, 28, of East Grand Forks, Minn., died May 8 in a hospital in Landstuhl,
Germany. He was wounded May 3 when a roadside bomb exploded while he was on patrol in a
Humvee.
Holmes was the eighth Minnesota resident killed in Iraq since the war began. He was awarded a
Bronze Star and a Purple Heart when he was buried May 17 in his home state of Arizona. His
parents, George and Rhonda Holmes, attended the memorial service organized by the North
Dakota National Guard here.
First Sgt. Bradley Aune said Holmes was an outstanding soldier and a good man.
“We had a kind of a special bond because he was a former Marine and I was a former Marine, so
we hit it off right away,” Aune said. “He was always a guy I could count on to do the mission.”
Holmes was assigned to the 188th Air Defense Artillery, but volunteered to serve in the 141st
Engineer Combat Battalion when it was called up to serve in Iraq because it was short-staffed.
Aune said he wanted people to remember Holmes for the basics.
“That he was just a good man and that he served his country and he did what every service man
does, try to do the best he can and doesn’t expect nothing in return but just for people to respect
America,” the sergeant said.
“He was a brother,” said Maj. Gen. Michael Haugen, borrowing the term from a group of
motorcyclists who attended Holmes’ funeral service in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Haugen said he noticed the bikers had a World War II veterans’ logo on the backs of their leather
jackets. When asked if they knew Holmes, the group of men said, “’We didn’t, but he was a
brother,”’ Haugen said.
Friends and fellow soldiers in Grand Forks also called him a brother.
“My husband was over in Iraq with him,” said Ann Mason, trying to hold back her tears. “He said he
was like a big brother. He was very supportive, a kind and generous person.”
Tim Davis, Holmes’ best friend in Grand Forks, said Holmes was a genuinely caring person. For
over a year, Holmes worked with Davis as a youth counselor at a treatment center for troubled
youth.
“Everyone always has stories of what a great guy somebody was, but James really was patriotic,”
Davis said. “He really believed in this country and he did help people. He did put himself in danger,
so somebody could spend time with his baby. It’s not a made-up, after-the-fact kind of thing. That’s
who he was.”
Holmes graduated from Centennial High School, in Peoria, Ariz., in 1994, and from Arizona State
University in 2000. He enlisted in the North Dakota Army National Guard while attending North
Dakota State University.
North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven called Holmes a patriot and a hero.
“We have a number of freedoms because all gave some and some, like James Holmes, gave all,”
Hoeven said.
Cpl. Demetrius L. Rice
Hometown: Ortonville, Minnesota, U.S.
Age: 24 years old
Died: July 14, 2004 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Unit: Army, 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
Incident: Killed in a vehicle accident in Talafar.
Army Cpl. Demetrius L. Rice
Died July 14, 2004 serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom
24, of Ortonville, Minn.; assigned to 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry
Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; killed July 14 when his vehicle rolled over as the driver tried to avoid
another vehicle in Talafar, Iraq.
Minnesota soldier dies in Iraq vehicle accident
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS — A soldier from Minnesota died in Iraq when the vehicle he was in swerved to
miss an oncoming truck and rolled over.
Cpl. Demetrius Lamont Rice, 24, of Ortonville, Minn., died Wednesday in the rollover near Talafar,
45 miles from Mosul in northern Iraq, the Department of Defense said Friday.
His vehicle went off the road and rolled down an embankment.
Rice was the ninth Minnesota soldier killed in Iraq.
Valorie Rice, Demetrius’ mother, moved with her children to Minnesota from Chicago nearly 11
years ago in hopes of providing them with a better life.
Rice’s younger sister, Briana Rice, of Appleton, said her grandmother in suburban Chicago called
her Wednesday with the news.
“She just told me that he was gone,” Briana Rice said.
Rice joined the Army in April 2001 and was a member of the 2nd Infantry Division, based at Fort
Lewis, Wash., Army spokesman Sgt. Maj. J.C. Mathews said.
Another soldier, Pfc. Jesse Martinez of Tracy, Calif., also died in the crash. They were assigned to
the Stryker Brigade combat team. Two other soldiers were injured.
Rice and Martinez were inside a Stryker, the $2 million infantry carriers that are getting their first
combat test in Iraq.
The soldiers were on their way to help set up a traffic control point when the Stryker swerved to
avoid the oncoming civilian fuel truck, said Lt. Col. Joseph Piek, the brigade spokesman.
Rice attended Ortonville High School and was “a good kid,” said principal Terry Rheingans. He
said Rice was proud to be a soldier.
While her son was in Iraq, Valorie Rice would use her three-way calling plan to link up Rice with
any relatives she could reach — his grandmother, aunts and uncles. They would discuss how the
family was doing and “try to keep his spirits up,” she said.
She remembers the last time she spoke with her son.
“He sounded down. I think he was tired of being over there,” she said. “He was ready to come
home, like a lot of them. But he knew why he was there, why this needed to be done.”
Services for Rice will be held Tuesday at Fort Lewis and Thursday in Chicago, his mother said.
Petty Officer 3rd Class David A. Cedergren
Hometown: South St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Age: 25 years old
Died: September 11, 2004 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Unit: Navy, 2nd Marine Division Fleet Marine Forces Atlantic
Incident: Died after collapsing near Iskandariayah.
David A. Cedergren was the kind of guy who would share his CARE packages from home if he noticed a fellow sailor
without one. "Dave would have given anything he would have owned to anybody at any time," brother Brad
Cedergren said. "And he has a smile that would cheer anybody up, no matter what they were going through."
Cedergren, 25, of South St. Paul, Minn., died Sept. 11 after being found unconscious in a shower. Cedergren, based at
Camp Lejeune, liked cars, motorcycles, rebuilding motors and tae kwan do. He planned to go back to school to
become a nurse anesthetist. "This guy was amazing. He was absolutely everything that anybody would want as a
friend," said brother Barry Cedergren. "He didn't go over there as someone to kill. He went over there because he
wanted to help people." In March, Cedergren went to Iraq, a place he joked was the land of "long, never-ending
sandy beaches," said his sister Jodi Jensen. He also is survived by his father and stepmother, Bart and Pam Cedergren,
and mother Deb Cedergren.
David A. Cedergren
| Visit Guest Book
Cedergren David A. Beloved Son, Brother, and Sailor. Hospital Corpsman Third Class. Age 25, on September 11, 2004.
Preceded in death by grandparents; and niece, Angel Ann. Survived by father, Bart (Pam); mother, Deb Cedergren;
brothers, Barry (Dawn) and Brad (Lynn); sisters, Jodi (Perry) Jensen and Kristy; also survived by aunts, uncles, nieces,
nephews, cousins and friends. Funeral service 10 AM Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2004 at the FORT SNELLING MEMORIAL
CHAPEL, Hwy 55 @ Hwy 5, Ft. Snelling Reservation. Visitation 4-8 PM Monday at the SOUTHERN FUNERAL HOME,
414 Marie Ave., SSP and 1 hour prior to service at the chapel. Interment Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Memorials
preferred to the Navy & Marine Corps Relief Society, 4015 Wilson Blvd., 10th Floor, Arlington, VA 22203. J.S.
Klecatsky & Sons Southern Funeral Home 651-451-1551
Published in Star Tribune on September 19, 2004
WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2009
No "Natural Causes" In Sailor's Iraq Death
Navy Reopens Investigation Into Death In Shower, One Of Many Fatal Electrocutions In
Iraq
(AP) A third U.S. service member has been determined to have been electrocuted in a shower in Iraq, and Navy
criminal investigators are investigating, The Associated Press has learned.
Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class David A. Cedergren, 25, of South St. Paul, Minn., died Sept. 11, 2004, while showering.
His family was told he died of natural causes.
Late last year, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology changed the manner of Cedergren's death to "accidental,"
caused by electrocution and inflammation of the heart. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service has reopened an
investigation into his death, Ed Buice, a NCIS spokesman, said Monday.
Cedergren's death is among 18 electrocution deaths - 16 U.S. service members and two military contractors - under
review as part of a Department of Defense Inspector General inquiry. Improperly installed or maintained electrical
devices have been blamed in some of the deaths, while accidental contact with power lines caused others.
The inquiry primarily involves electrical work done at a facility where a Green Beret, Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth, 24, of
Pittsburgh, was electrocuted while showering in January 2008.
Cedergren - a medic - was found in an outdoor shower stall in Camp Iskandariyah, Iraq, not breathing and without a
pulse.
His brother, Barry Cedergren, said his family initially suspected he'd been shocked because, according to reports
shown to the family, witnesses told investigators that some service members had reported being shocked in the
shower.
He said military investigators took a second look at the case after a request from former Sen. Norm Coleman, R.Minn.
"We're looking further into what our options are," said Barry Cedergren, of Ramsey, Minn.
Maseth's death was initially considered accidental, but is now classified by Army investigators as "negligent
homicide" caused by Houston-based contractor KBR Inc. and two of its supervisors. An Army investigator said the
contractor failed to ensure that "qualified electricians and plumbers" did the work. The case is under legal review.
Last year, Maseth's family sued KBR in Allegheny County, Pa., alleging wrongful death. The case was moved to federal
court in western Pennsylvania, where it is pending.
NCIS spokesman Buice said he could not comment on evidentiary issues such as who was maintaining the shower
where David Cedergren died.
Another service member electrocuted in Iraq while showering in a U.S.-maintained facility was identified in a
congressional report as Army Cpl. Marcos Nolasco, 34, of Chino, Calif. Investigators concluded he was electrocuted
when an ungrounded water heater shorted, the report said.
© MMIX The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or
redistributed.
Petty Officer 3rd Class David Ashley Cedergren
May 14th, 2010
Born on May 29, 1979 in Ramsey County, MN
Died on Sep. 11, 2004 near Iskandariayah, Iraq
David A. Cedergren of South St. Paul grew up in Zimmerman and attended school in Elk
River. He dropped out of alternative high school but re-enrolled at South St. Paul High after
deciding to join the Navy and train to be a medic. David had gone through some tough times,
he was a good kid, but needed a bit of direction. With encouragement from his older brother
who was serving in the Navy himself, David enlisted in April of 2000. His goal was to help
others and the military always had those opportunities. He trained at Great Lakes, Illinois, and
then went to work at Cherry Point. David was promoted three times, achieving the rank of
hospital corpsman petty officer 3rd class by March 2003. He trained to be a field medic in
October 2003 knowing that would increase his chances of being sent to Iraq. The Navy life
suited him, he received two letters of commendation from admirals, two letters of
appreciation and a good conduct medal. He went from being a good kid to a true man. He was
an inspiration to all who met him, passionate about his work, with a memorable smile you
never forgot. Kind and gentle, David had a heart of gold and a passion for exercise. He was
extremely fit. In the spring of 2004 he deployed to Iraq assigned to the 2nd Marine Division
Fleet Marine Forces Atlantic, and worked as a medic corpsman providing medical assistance
for Marines in a small-boat unit that patrolled Iraq’s rivers. He stayed with the same group of
Marines when it transferred to a more dangerous land patrol. Despite what I dealt with in his
duties, he never lost his good humor and sense of purpose never failed. He even joked about
the endless sandy beaches in Iraq. He was doing just what he wanted to do, help people. A
month before he was to return home, David was taking a shower and collapsed dead. An
investigation showed he died as a result of being electrocuted from improperly installed or
maintained electrical devices in the outdoor shower facility. He planned on studying to
become a nurse when he returned home. David was survived by his father, Bart (Pam);
mother, Deb Cedergren; brothers, Barry (Dawn) and Brad (Lynn); and sisters, Jodi (Perry)
Jensen and Kristy.
David is buried in Section 9-A, Site 522 of Ft. Snelling National Cemetery.
Spec. Daniel James McConnell
Hometown: Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.
Age: 27 years old
Died: November 16, 2004 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Unit: Army, 27th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
Incident: Killed in a vehicle accident in Kirkuk.
Daniel McConnell was working odd jobs and trying to be a good father to his two young girls when he joined the
Army. "I think he did it out of his love for his whole family," said his sister, Becky. "He wanted us to be proud of him.
And all he ever talked about was how much he loved his daughters." McConnell, 27, of Duluth, Minn., died Nov. 16 in
a vehicle accident in Kirkuk. He was stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Becky McConnell described her brother
as "a handful" in his youth, but said he later thrived in a foster home. He had wanted to be a social worker, but set
those hopes aside when his high school girlfriend became pregnant and they had a daughter, she said. Three years
later, McConnell had another daughter. But he never married and floundered in finding work, Becky McConnell said.
Then he joined the Army. "He was a changed man," she said. "He was doing something he felt we could be proud of."
Army Spc. Daniel James McConnell
Died November 16, 2004 serving during Operation Iraqi Freedom
27, of Duluth, Minn.; assigned to the 27th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks,
Hawaii; killed Nov. 16 in a vehicle accident in Kirkuk, Iraq.
Fallen soldier was a quiet hero
Associated Press
DULUTH, Minn. — Spc. Daniel James McConnell was remembered Tuesday as a quiet hero who
led by example.
The 27-year-old father of two girls died Nov. 16 when he was on patrol in the northern Iraq city of
Kirkuk. The armored Humvee he was riding in rolled down an embankment.
“He was one of the finest soldiers,” Brig. Gen. Ken Keen said during funeral services at Dougherty
Funeral Home in Duluth.
“He represented our Army and our nation with his spirit, activity and attitude,” Keen said, according
to a report in Wednesday editions of the Duluth News Tribune.
McConnell, of Duluth, enlisted in the Army two years ago to give some direction to his life and to
become a better father to 5-year-old Riley and 2-year-old Cearra. He was assigned to the 27th
Infantry, 25th Infantry Division, based at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. He was home on leave just a
few weeks ago.
McConnell was the oldest of five siblings. His father, Lloyd McConnell, died in 1998 of
complications from diabetes. His mother, Beverly, died in 1992 from cancer when he was a
teenager.
He graduated from AlBrook High School in 1996 while living with a foster family.
The Rev. John Golobich, a priest at St. James Catholic Church in West Duluth, remembered
McConnell when he was a young student.
“Our friend Dan was taken from us when he was called to bring peace to a foreign land,” Golobich
said. “There are tears here today. There is sorrow. There’s an empty feeling.
McConnell was at least the 10th Minnesota soldier or Marine to die in military operations in Iraq
since the war began in 2003. A civilian contractor from Minnesota was also killed there.
Keen said after burial prayers: “(McConnell) was an outstanding soldier, very well respected. He
was a leader among his peers. This hit his unit hard.”
Daniel James McConnell
Duluth, Minnesota
November 16, 2004
Age Military
27
Army
Rank
Spc
Unit/Location
27th Infantry, 25th Infantry Division
Schofield Barracks, Hawaii
Died in Kirkuk, Iraq, when he was involved in a vehicle accident.
From Andrew 12/08/05:
This is the part of the job I had hoped I would never experience; saying
goodbye to an outstanding soldier who has fallen. In preparing my remarks, I
was gripped by a lot of emotions. Shock, that a soldier could be taken from us
so quickly. Sadness, to his family, friends, and platoon members. Anger,
because when a situation feels out of control, rage is the one we usually turn
to. Most of all Pride, because SPC McConnell served his country well. He
always followed orders and never questioned the mission. I think the thing I
heard most from SPC McConnell was "Roger, SGT".
To SPC McConnell's family, his friends, and his unit-I would like to say
Thank you. Thank you for serving. Thank you for serving your nation and
your countrymen. Thank you for serving the soldiers of Coldsteel.
Last week I read a statistic which caught my attention. It said that 95% of
Americans under the age of 65 have never served in the Armed Forces, in any
capacity...95%. That makes SPC McConnell pretty unique in my book. That
fact, makes all of you unique. SPC McConnell served and you serve so the
country can sleep--safely, peacefully, and without fear.
The kids in the States can go to school and know there will be a teacher to
teach them, and a desk to sit at. The citizens of the United States can go to the
market without worry of being kidnapped. They can travel across the country
without fear of being abducted due to their ethnicity. All of you have seen the
atrocities of Iraq first hand; I don't need to preach to you about that. It is
through the dedication and perseverance of soldiers like SPC McConnell that
make our country great, and the country of Iraq a better place. Thank you
SPC McConnell.
The military is a family. In this environment, it's the only family we have. It
has been discussed for centuries, "Why do soldiers fight". Is it honor? Is it
loyalty? Is it fame? Is it money? I would say it is a combination of all these
things, but ultimately, when rounds are going down range, a soldier fights for
his buddy in the foxhole next to him; at that moment all of those other things
are not something he can touch. The only tangible thing at that time, is his
buddy to his left and right. On that tragic morning of 16NOV04, SPC
McConnell was surrounded by his buddies to his left and his right.
Unfortunately, his injuries were just too great to reverse. He passed away
with his comrades by his side. The soldiers of this company applied every
ounce of energy to recover 6 x personnel from the vehicle that night. It was a
combined effort that validates why this country has the finest soldiers in the
world. SPC McConnell, you will be missed terribly; and you will never be
forgotten.
I would like to leave all of you with a quote from an unknown author. It
captures the sacrifice and the unselfishness in the calling of the American
soldier. It attempts to answer the question of "Why we serve" and "Is it worth
it".
"It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press.
It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to
demonstrate.
It is the soldier who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag, who wears
the flag with honor on his right shoulder, and ultimately; whose coffin is
draped by the flag. It is even the soldier who allows the protester the right to
burn the flag. It is the soldier. It has always been the soldier."
Once again, thank you Specialist Daniel J. McConnell. Thank you for
serving. Thank you for choosing to be a soldier. We will surely miss you.
COLDSTEEL!