Army Spc. Michael G. Karr Jr.

Died March 31, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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23, of San Antonio; assigned to 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.; killed March 31 when an improvised explosive device hit his armored personnel carrier in Habbaniyah, Iraq.

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Michael G. Karr decided the Army was a better place for him to be and dropped out of the University of Texas. "He was not really finding his path," said his father, Greg Karr. But soldiering agreed with him, his father said. Spc. Karr, 23, of San Antonio, was killed March 31 in Habbaniyah, Iraq, when a bomb detonated under the armored personnel carrier he was in. In high school, Karr had been a standout on the swim team, which his mother coached. He came home before Christmas after months in Iraq because his paternal grandfather died. "He said he was doing what he wanted to do and he was proud to be serving his country," said his half-sister, Erin Sine. "He knew what he wanted to do." Greg Karr said his son had loved being a medic. "He was looking at re-upping because he really liked his medic position, so he was looking at getting himself promoted within those ranks and learn more in the medical field," the father said.

— Associated Press