Army Sgt. 1st Class Darren M. Linde

Died December 3, 2012 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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41, of Devils Lake, N.D.; assigned to 818th Eng Co (Sapper), North Dakota National Guard, Williston, N.D.; died Dec. 3 in southern Afghanistan of wounds caused by an improvised explosive device. Also killed was Army Spc. Tyler J. Orgaard, 20, of Bismarck, N.D.

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N.D. lawmakers take moment of silence for soldiers
The Associated Press

BISMARCK, N.D. — North Dakota legislators have taken a few moments to honor two National Guard soldiers killed in action in Afghanistan and a third who was wounded.

The Legislature is meeting at the state Capitol in Bismarck this week to get organized for the 2013 session that starts in January. Gov. Jack Dalrymple on Wednesday presented his budget recommendations to the lawmakers. At the start of his speech he asked for a moment of silence for Sgt. 1st Class Darren Linde, of Devils Lake, Spc. Tyler Orgaard, of Bismarck, and Spc. Ian Placek, of Bismarck.

Linde and Orgaard died Monday when an improvised explosive device struck their vehicle, and Placek was wounded.

Linde's and Orgaard's remains were being flown back to the United States on Wednesday. Funeral arrangements were pending.

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Soldier killed in Afghanistan remembered as mentor

The Associated Press

BISMARCK, N.D. — A North Dakota National Guard soldier killed this week in Afghanistan is being remembered as a soldier and also as a mentor.

Forty-one-year-old Sgt. 1st Class Darren Linde of Devils Lake was a full-time instructor at the Camp Grafton Training Center. Fellow instructor 1st Sgt. Kurt Schwind tells the Grand Forks Herald that Linde earned the nicknames "Grandpa" and "Papa Bear" and was proud of the terms of endearment.

Linde and 20-year-old Spc. Tyler Orgaard of Bismarck died Monday in a roadside bomb attack. They were serving with the 818th Engineer Company. Orgaard's family planned to make public statements on Thursday.

Twenty-three-year-old Spc. Ian Placek was wounded and is in stable condition at a hospital in Germany. The Bismarck Tribune reports he suffered burns to his chest, lungs and legs.

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North Dakota soldier being laid to rest in Montana
The Associated Press

BISMARCK, N.D. — A North Dakota National Guard soldier killed in Afghanistan was being laid to rest on Tuesday, while the family of a second soldier who died prepared for his burial.

Services for Sgt. 1st Class Darren Linde, 41, of Devils Lake, were scheduled Tuesday afternoon in Sidney, Mont., where he grew up. The funeral for Spc. Tyler Orgaard, 20, of Bismarck, is Thursday in that city. Linde will be buried in the Sidney Cemetery and Orgaard in the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery south of Mandan. Gov. Jack Dalrymple asked that flags be flown at half-staff on Tuesday and Thursday in honor of the fallen soldiers.

The two members of the Williston-based 818th Engineer Company died in a roadside bomb blast in southern Afghanistan on Dec. 3. A third soldier, Spc. Ian Placek, 23, of Bismarck, was wounded but is recovering.

Linde's widow, Adrienne Linde, said in a recent statement that she and their four children, Celina, Kayla, Alexis and Eric, "are all devastated by the loss of such an incredible husband and father."

"Though saddened and shocked, we are thankful to have wonderful memories and funny stories that will last a lifetime," she said. "I have always been Darren's number one cheerleader and I am enormously proud of him for his sacrifice and service to our nation. Darren gave his life so that others could pass through safely."

Linde originally enlisted in the North Dakota Guard in 1990. He served in the U.S. Army and Montana Army National Guard before returning to the North Dakota Guard in 2006. He deployed to Iraq with the Guard's 164th Engineer Battalion from August 2007 to April 2008. Since 2009, he served as a full-time instructor with the Guard's 164th Regional Training Institute at the Camp Grafton Training Center near Devils Lake.

Linde and Orgaard were among about 100 members of the 818th who deployed in April for a year of duty overseas. The unit arrived in Afghanistan in June after undergoing final training at Fort Bliss in Texas. The unit handles combat engineer missions including route clearance, which the soldiers were doing when the attack occurred.

Orgaard's body was flown from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to Bismarck on Monday and turned over to family.