Army Capt. Ian P. Weikel

Died April 18, 2006 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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31, of Colorado; assigned to the 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died April 18 in Balad, Iraq, from injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during combat operations in Baghdad.

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West Pointer killed in Baghdad blast

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — A former class president, star football and basketball player at Fountain-Fort Carson High School who attended West Point died after his vehicle was struck by a roadside explosive in Baghdad.

Capt. Ian P. Weikel, 31, was assigned to the 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, based at Fort Hood, Texas. He died Tuesday in Balad, which is about 42 miles north of Baghdad, the military said.

Weikel, of Colorado Springs was profiled in 1993 after being picked by The (Colorado Springs) Gazette as one of the “Best and Brightest” teenagers, the newspaper reported. While in high school — where he organized food drives and worked to get students to take a drug free pledge before they could buy prom tickets — Weikel dreamed of being an Air Force pilot.

He graduated with a 3.94 grade-point-average and went on to attend the Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.

“My life is regimented, and the challenges are hard. Anything worth having is, though,” he told the newspaper shortly after graduating.

Weikel’s family could not be reached Wednesday night.