Army Sgt. Earl D. Werner

Died August 28, 2009 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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38, of Mondovi, Wis.; assigned to the 41st Special Troops Battalion, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oregon Army National Guard, Portland, Ore.; died Aug. 28 in Baghdad, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an explosively formed penetrator. Also killed was Army Spc. Taylor D. Marks.

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2 Oregon guardsmen killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon National Guard has identified two soldiers killed when a convoy they were guarding was attacked in Iraq.

Pfc. Taylor D. Marks, 19, and a decorated veteran, Sgt. Earl D. Werner, 38, died Aug. 28 when the convoy was struck by an explosively formed penetrator, or EFP, an armor-piercing explosive that turns into a projectile when detonated.

Werner was on his third deployment with the Oregon National Guard. He had been awarded the Bronze Star, two Army Commendation Medals and the Combat Action Badge.

He is survived by his wife Casey and son Charles of Amboy, Wash.

Marks, of Monmouth, was a graduate of Central High School. He is survived by his parents and stepfather, and his sister and brother.

Both were serving with the 41st Special Troops Battalion, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

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Guardsman served three tours in Iraq

The Associated Press

Earl D. Werner was an animal lover who raised horses and enjoyed fishing.

“He actually went fishing in Baghdad,” said his father-in-law, Duane Royer. “It wasn’t any fish he’d want to keep, but he did it.”

The Idaho native was a truck driver who became a decorated soldier after joining the Oregon Army National Guard. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq and later returned there for his third deployment.

Werner, 38, was killed Aug. 28 in Rashid, Iraq, when insurgents attacked his vehicle with a penetrating explosive. His hometown was listed as Mondovi, Wis., and he was based in Portland, Ore.

“He had such a great caring for the other people he worked with in the National Guard,” his father-in-law said. “He felt very responsible for them. That was a driving force of him wanting to do it again. He wanted to take care of people.”

That sense of caring also extended outside of work. When a landslide blocked a road near his home, Werner rounded up equipment to clear the way, Royer said.

“He was a very talented young man who knew how to do his job,” he said.

Werner is survived by his wife, Casey, and his 19-year-old son.