Army Pvt. 2 Michael J. Deutsch

Died July 31, 2003 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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21, of Dubuque, Iowa; assigned to 1st Squadron, 1st Armored Cavalry Regiment, Armstrong Barracks, Germany; killed while riding in a vehicle that was struck by an explosive device on July 31 in Baghdad.

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Dubuque soldier dies in Iraq

Associated Press

DUBUQUE, Iowa — The father of a soldier killed in Iraq says his son “was our hero.”

Pvt. Michael J. Deutsch, 21, of Dubuque, was killed July 31 in Baghdad. He served with Troop C, 1-1 Cavalry, 1st Armored Division.

He died when the armored personnel carrier he was riding in was hit by an explosive round, said Iowa National Guard spokesman Col. Robert King.

Until news of Deutsch’s death reached Dubuque, his family did not know that his unit had been sent to Iraq.

“We thought he was in Germany,” his father, Wayne Deutsch, said Sunday.

Michael Deutsch graduated from Dubuque High School in 2000 and entered the Army in 2002, his family told the Dubuque Telegraph Herald. He completed basic training at Fort Benning in Columbus, Ga., and was stationed at Armstrong Barracks in Budingen, Germany, before being sent to Iraq.

His business teacher at Dubuque Senior High, Pat Murphy, said Deutsch was a member of the German Club.

“He was a good kid to have in class. He had a good personality,” Murphy said. “He seemed to get along with everyone.

“You hear about all of the families who lose loved ones. This one brings it home — the reality hits home for us. It’s a tough situation. A tragedy,” Murphy said.

Deutsch is the fourth Iowan to die in the war in the Iraq. The others were Marine Sgt. Bradley S. Korthaus, 28, of Davenport; Army Pvt. Kenneth A. Nalley, 19, of Hamburg; and Jeffrey E. Bohr, Jr., 39, of Ossian.