Army Pfc. John P. Dion

Died January 3, 2010 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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19, of Shattuck, Okla.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.; died Jan. 3 in Ashoque, Afghanistan, from wounds sustained when insurgents attacked their unit with multiple improvised explosive devices and small-arms fire. Also killed were Sgt. Joshua A. Lengstorf and Spc. Brian R. Bowman.

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3 Fort Carson-based soldiers killed in Afghanistan

The Associated Press

FORT CARSON, Colo. — Three soldiers based at Fort Carson, Colo., have died in Afghanistan from wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit with improvised explosives and small-arms fire, the Defense Department said Tuesday.

The soldiers were identified as 24-year-old Sgt. Joshua A. Lengstorf of Yoncalla, Ore., 24-year-old Spc. Brian R. Bowman of Crawfordsville, Ind., and 19-year-old Pvt. John P. Dion of Shattuck, Okla. The military said they died Sunday in Ashoque, Afghanistan.

The three soldiers were assigned to Fort Carson’s 4th Brigade Combat Team, part of the 4th Infantry Division. The attack marked the post’s highest death toll in a single incident since four Fort Carson soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on Oct. 15.

At least 38 soldiers from Fort Carson have died in Afghanistan. Another 255 have died in Iraq.

Lengstorf joined the Army in August 2006 and was deployed to Afghanistan in May. He also served in Iraq from March to December 2007. He is survived by a wife and 14-month-old daughter.

Bowman, a married combat medic, also joined the Army in August 2006 and also deployed to Afghanistan in May.

Dion joined the Army in June after graduating from high school in Shattuck, where he was on the baseball and football teams. He was deployed to Afghanistan in November.

Dion’s half-brother, Justin Werve, who was deployed to Iraq twice with the Air Force, said he tried talking Dion out of joining the Army, but he couldn’t be dissuaded.

“He wanted to serve his country,” Werve said. “He did it for the same reason I did it: to make sure his family stayed safe.”

NATO’s International Security Assistance Force said four U.S. service personnel were killed Sunday by a roadside bomb, but it’s not clear whether the Fort Carson soldiers were among them.