Army Sgt. Jeremiah J. Boehmer

Died February 5, 2006 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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22, of Parkston, S.D.; assigned to the 562nd Engineer Company, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Fort Wainwright, Alaska; killed Feb. 5 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Stryker engineer squad vehicle in Husayniyah, Iraq. Also killed was Staff Sgt. Christopher R. Morningstar.

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Two Fort Wainwright soldiers killed in Iraq

FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska — Two Fort Wainwright soldiers died in an explosion while conducting operations in Iraq, Army officials said Tuesday.

Staff Sgt. Christopher Morningstar, 27, and Spc. Jeremiah J. Boehmer were killed Sunday when an explosive device detonated near their Stryker squad engineer vehicle in Husayniyah, Iraq.

The men were part of a convoy traveling through the area, said Army spokesman Maj. Kirk Gohlke.

They were the only soldiers killed in the explosion, according to Gohlke. He knew of no other casualties.

Both soldiers were assigned to the 562nd Engineer Company, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team based at Fort Wainwright.

Boehmer, from Parkston, S.D., was a combat engineer. He joined the Army in November 2002 and was assigned to Fort Wainwright in April 2003, Gohlke said.

Morningstar, from San Antonio, also was a combat engineer. He joined the Army in April 1997 and was assigned to Fort Wainwright in August 2003.

Holly Morningstar said her son grew up playing with toy soldiers. He joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps in high school before joining the Army in November 2002.

“It was just a natural progression,” she told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner by phone Tuesday from her home in San Antonio. “He loved serving.”

She said her son made friends easily and was strong-willed.

He had visited her in October while on two-week leave. His son and daughter came from Eagle River to join him. They visited museums, ate at their favorite restaurants and spent a day at a lake, she told the newspaper.

“It was the first time Chris had ever tried water-skiing,” she said. “He wasn’t successful.”

Morningstar re-enlisted shortly after arriving in Iraq this fall.

“I was worried,” she said. “I wondered why he would want to put himself in danger again.”

Jim Boehmer, of Parkston, said his son joined the Army after high school in November 2002.

“He needed some kind of adventure when he got out of high school and thought the Army was the way to go,” he told the newspaper.

The sergeant was at home on leave in early January.

“His visit was the right time for the bowl games,” Jim Boehmer said.

His son went to bowl game parties with friends, visited with his four siblings, grandparents and other friends and family.

He said he and his wife were impressed with how the Army affected their son.

“He said, The Army challenged me so much, maybe I’ll let them send me to college so I can become a teacher,” Jim Boemer said. “That just floored me and my wife. He was a little bit of a wild child, but he graduated into a beautiful man.”

— Associated Press

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South Dakotan killed in Iraq

PARKSTON, S.D. — Another South Dakota soldier has died in Iraq, a Sioux Falls television station reported Monday night.

KELO-TV said Army Sgt. Jeremiah Boehmer, 22, died over the weekend while serving in Iraq. He was a 2002 graduate of Parkston High School.

“He was a real popular kid. He was always positive, outgoing,” said Jim Akre, Boehmer’s high school counselor.

“He was really a bright young man and it’s really a loss for our community.”

Boehmer, who was in Parkston on leave at the start of January, had served in Afghanistan and then went to Iraq for his second tour of duty, KELO reported.

Akre said Boehmer never doubted his decision to join the Army. He said the Boehmer family is trying to cope.

“I know they’re a real close-knit family and obviously they’re pulling together and trying to support each other,” Akre said.

He was the second military member from Parkston to die in the war.

Jason Montefering, 27, was killed in July by a roadside bomb. Like Boehmer, it was Montefering’s second tour of duty.

— Associated Press

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Soldier killed in Iraq was a popular kid, says high school counselor

PARKSTON, S.D. — Another South Dakota soldier has died in Iraq, according to an Army official assigned to help his family in the wake of his death.

Army Sgt. Jeremiah Boehmer, 22, of Parkston, died when his vehicle was hit by a roadside explosive device about 5 p.m. Sunday, said Army Master Sgt. Lew Gardner, an ROTC instructor at the University of South Dakota.

Gardner said Boehmer and others in his unit were on a routine security mission.

“They were doing a route sweep, where convoys go up and down a route,” to check for danger, Gardner said.

A soldier in Charlie Company, 526 Engineer Battalion out of Fort Wainwright, Alaska, Boehmer was serving as rear air guard. He enlisted on Nov. 15, 2002, Gardner said.

Jim Boehmer, the soldier’s father, said his family did not yet have much information about what had happened.

“All we know is that our son was killed the other day. We’re going to get more information tomorrow,” he told The Argus Leader in story published Tuesday.

Boehmer was a 2002 graduate of Parkston High School.

“He was a real popular kid. He was always positive, outgoing,” Jim Akre, Boehmer’s high school counselor, told KELO-TV of Sioux Falls.

“He was really a bright young man and it’s really a loss for our community.”

Boehmer, who was in Parkston on leave at the start of January, had served in Afghanistan and then went to Iraq for his second tour of duty, KELO reported.

Akre said Boehmer never doubted his decision to join the Army. He said the Boehmer family is trying to cope.

“I know they’re a real close-knit family and obviously they’re pulling together and trying to support each other,” Akre said.

He was the second military member from Parkston to die in the war.

Jason Montefering, 27, was killed in July by a roadside bomb. Like Boehmer, it was Montefering’s second tour of duty.

— Associated Press

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Parkston honors soldier killed in Iraq

PARKSTON, S.D. — Hundreds packed a Parkston church Thursday to remember a soldier killed in Iraq.

Sgt. Jeremiah Boehmer, 22, of Parkston, died Feb. 5 when an explosive device detonated near his Stryker in Al Husayniyah, Iraq. Boehmer and other members of Charlie Company, 526 Engineer Battalion out of Fort Wainwright, Alaska, were on a routine security mission.

He was a 2002 graduate of Parkston High School.

Friends, family and community members sang “God Bless America” as eight soldiers in dress uniforms wheeled the casket into Sacred Heart Catholic Church.

The Rev. Bob Krantz told those attending the funeral service that Boehmer had given the gift of life for his country.

“Jeremiah, we entrust you to God’s care,” Krantz said. “God bless you.” South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds offered Boehmer’s family condolences from residents of the state.

“Your son is truly in a better place,” he said.

Maj. Gen. Kevin Campbell awarded Boehmer the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Good Conduct Medal, and his family was presented with gold star lapel pins given to families who’ve lost loved ones in the line of duty.

The congregation sang “America the Beautiful” as the honor guard wheeled the casket into the church lobby and draped it with an American flag.

A procession brought the casket to Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery, where another soldier from Parkston killed in Iraq is buried.

Jason Montefering, 27, was killed in July by a roadside bomb. Like Boehmer, it was Montefering’s second tour of duty.

After a gun salute and final tune from a distant bugle, soldiers folded the flag and Campbell presented it to Boehmer’s father.

The Rev. Krantz added a few final words of comfort: “May we who mourn be reunited with our brother one day.”

— Associated Press