Army Sgt. Spencer C. Akers

Died December 8, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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35, of Traverse City, Mich.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 125th Infantry Regiment, Michigan Army National Guard, Saginaw, Mich.; died Dec. 8 at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, of injuries sustained Nov. 21 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during combat operations in Habbaniyah, Iraq.

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Family: Michigan soldier wounded in Iraq dies

The Associated Press

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — A member of the Army National Guard and veteran of the first Gulf War who was among a group of Michigan soldiers wounded last month in Iraq has died, his family says.

Sgt. Spencer Akers, 35, of Traverse City, died Dec. 8 at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas, said Akers’ uncle, George Akers, of Manton. He was burned after his vehicle struck a land mine in Habbaniyah.

“He was a darn good kid, somebody every father would be proud of,” George Akers told the Traverse City Record-Eagle. He said his nephew’s goal was to become a state police trooper.

The soldier was on his second stint in Iraq, believing it was the right thing to do, the uncle said.

“His thought was, ‘Better me, a single guy with no strings, than a married man,’ ” George Akers of Wexford County’s Liberty Township told the Detroit News.

Akers’ mother, Carole, 69, said her son was drawn to the military as a child, wearing camouflage pajamas and playing with toy guns.

“He’s always been fascinated by it,” she told the Detroit Free Press.

Pfc. John Dearing, 21, of Hazel Park died Nov. 21 after the blast, which also injured three other soldiers from Michigan. All five were with the Guard’s Saginaw-based 125th Infantry Regiment.

“He said he wanted to do his part,” George Akers said of his nephew.

The Pentagon had not confirmed Akers’ death by early Dec. 12.

Akers, who previously lived in Tustin, worked security in Traverse City for four years, said Matt Mayer, Akers’ roommate in Traverse City. Mayer said he met Akers when they served in the National Guard.

“He was a great soldier, a great leader, he was always helping other people regardless of his own situation and what was going on in his life,” Mayer said.

Carole Akers and husband Don, who live in Tustin, traveled last month to the hospital in Texas to be with their son, the Cadillac News reported. He was a graduate of Pine River High School.

Mayer said he admired his friend’s decision to seek out deployment to Iraq.

“He was trying for months to find a unit to go with, and then when he found one, he jumped right on it,” Mayer said.

A funeral tentatively was planned for Saturday at Covenant Life Church in Lake City.