Army Master Sgt. Brian Naseman

Died May 22, 2009 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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36, of New Bremen, Ohio; assigned to the 108th Forward Support Company, attached to 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry, 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Sussex, Wis.; died May 22 in Taji, Iraq of a noncombat-related incident.

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Wife remembers fallen husband

The Associated Press

CALEDONIA, Wis. — A Racine soldier who was killed in Iraq last week was always a comic, the life of the party whose two young sons adored and idolized him, his wife said.

Sgt. 1st Class Brian K. Naseman died May 22 of injuries described as noncombat-related, according to the Department of Defense.

Peggy Naseman said their boys, ages 9 and 7, wanted to be just like their father.

“They wanted to be career military just like their dad,” Naseman said Monday. “They knew that what he was doing was a good cause.”

Now they don’t understand why he won’t be coming home, she said.

Brian Naseman, 36, was assigned to the 108th Forward Support Company, attached to 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry, 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team out of Sussex.

He died in a rural region 20 miles north of Baghdad, where he was stationed with the Wisconsin Army National Guard. Military officials are still investigating the circumstances surrounding his death.

He was born to serve, Peggy Naseman said, always ready to give. He would help a friend or neighbor at any time, day or night.

“I can’t even tell you how many lives Brian has changed,” she said. “If you needed something, he was there.”

Friends and neighbors spent Memorial Day with Peggy Naseman, helping around the house and tying yellow ribbons around the trees in their yard.

Brian Naseman grew up in Ohio and met his future wife at a barn dance, where he taught her to line dance. Sparks didn’t immediately fly, but Peggy Naseman soon realized how funny he was.

When he moved from Ohio to Wisconsin, he transferred from the Ohio National Guard to the Wisconsin National Guard, with which he served one tour of duty in Kuwait before his stint in Iraq.

Peggy Naseman said she still doesn’t know when she can plan a funeral for her husband of 10 years. She was told his body might be returned to the U.S. as soon as this week.

The last time the Naseman family was together was in April when Peggy Naseman and the boys traveled to New Mexico to see Brian Naseman before he shipped off to Iraq.

They spent one of their final days together on a hot-air balloon.

“We got as close to heaven as we wanted to be at the time,” Peggy Naseman said.

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Nasemen never turned his back on others

The Associated Press

Brian Naseman never explained to his wife exactly why he wanted to join the military. He just did. He was a born leader, Peggy Naseman said.

When he moved from Ohio to Wisconsin, he transferred from the Ohio National Guard to the Wisconsin National Guard, with which he served two tours of duty, once in Kuwait and most recently in Iraq.

Brian would help a friend or neighbor at any time, day or night.

“I can’t even tell you how many lives Brian has changed. If you needed something, he was there,” she said.

Naseman, 36, of Racine, Wis., died May 22 in a noncombat-related incident in a rural region about 20 miles north of Baghdad.

He also is survived by two sons, Cole, 9, and Carter, 7. Naseman grew up in Ohio and met his future wife at a barn dance, where he taught her to line dance.

The Naseman family was last together in April when Peggy and the boys traveled to Albuquerque, N.M., to say goodbye to Brian before he shipped off to Iraq.

They spent one of their final days together on a hot air balloon.

“We got as close to heaven as we wanted to be at the time,” Peggy Naseman said.