Army Pfc. Lucas V. Starcevich

Died April 16, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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25, of Canton, Ill.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany; died April 16 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when the vehicle he was in struck an improvised explosive device.

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St. Charles soldier dies after vehicle hits explosive in Iraq

The Associated Press

ST. CHARLES, Ill. — A 25-year-old soldier from St. Charles was killed in Iraq when his vehicle hit an explosive, his family and the defense department said April 17.

Pfc. Lucas Vincent Starcevich died April 16 in Baghdad, the Department of Defense said.

In a statement issued through Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn’s office, Starcevich’s father said he enlisted in the Army in 2000 after attending Aurora High School.

Starcevich was honorably discharged in 2004 after serving in Iraq and re-enlisted in 2005 “because he loved the Army,” the statement said.

He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, in Schweinfurt, Germany, the Defense Department said.

Starcevich, who was born in Peoria, is survived by his father, Bradley, his mother, Eva Tomson, a brother and a sister.