Army Sgt. William S. Kinzer Jr.

Died January 26, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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27, of Hendersonville, N.C.; assigned to the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany; killed Jan. 26 when a rocket-propelled grenade hit his patrol in Duluiyah, Iraq.

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Hendersonville soldier dies in Iraq

Associated Press

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. — A Hendersonville soldier who died in Iraq when a rocket-propelled grenade hit his patrol was engaged to be married in March, his fiance’s father said Thursday.

Sgt. William S. Kinzer Jr., 27, died Wednesday in Duluiyah, Iraq, when his patrol was hit. Kinzer was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, out of Schweinfurt, Germany.

Kinzer was engaged to Melissa Milks of Hendersonville, and the couple planned to marry March 19, said Milks’ father, Jim Milks.

Kinzer entered the Army in 2001. He re-enlisted last year and was scheduled to return March 1 to the United States, Jim Milks said.

“He loved what he was doing. He loved the Army,” he said. “It’s little comfort, but at least he died doing what he loved.”

Reached by telephone at their home in Salem, S.C., Kinzer’s mother, Debbie, said the family was not ready to grant an interview about her son. Kinzer had two younger sisters, Patricia and Katie.

Duluiyah is a city of about 50,000 people located 60 miles north of Baghdad.

The 1st Infantry Division squadron Kinzer was with was involved in Operation Duluiyah Sunrise, a search for residents in an upscale section of the city who were harboring insurgents and financing attacks against coalition forces.

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Soldier killed in Iraq buried in Buncombe County

WEAVERVILLE, N.C. — A horse-drawn hearse bearing a soldier’s coffin led a somber procession of cars down flag-decked Main Street from the funeral service to the cemetery.

A sign on the front door of one shop in this Buncombe County community Friday advised, “We will be closed today from 1-2 p.m. for a friend’s funeral.”

Weaverville interrupted its normal routine to honor Army Sgt. William Scott Kinzer Jr., 27, who died Jan. 26 in Iraq after a rocket-propelled grenade hit his patrol.

Known as Scottie, Kinzer and his fiancee planned to settle in Weaverville, where his sisters and other family members live.

Several dozen people stood in the midday sun along Main Street. Some saluted as the procession passed by. Others held their hands across their hearts. Just about everyone was moved.

“This is just stunning,” said Karen Boudreau, 46. “I’m teared up over it, and I don’t even know the man. It’s emotional.”

As Boudreau spoke, the line of cars in the procession stretched down the street and beyond.

Art Accents frame shop co-owner Carla Mitchell hung the flag from her father’s coffin in front of the store.

“I fully appreciate what the soldiers are doing over there,” she said. “My dad was in the military.”

A 1996 graduate of Fletcher Academy, Kinzer was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, based in Schweinfurt, Germany. He went to Iraq in January 2004 and was scheduled to return home and marry Melissa Milks of Fletcher on March 19.

His parents, William Scott and Debbie Linn Kinzer, live in Salem, S.C.

Weaverville’s Sylvia Harward said she wished more school-age residents had been able to watch the procession through the town.

“It would have made a lasting impression,” she said.

— Associated Press