Army Sgt. Timothy R. Van Orman

Died February 5, 2008 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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24, of Port Matilda, Pa.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died Feb. 5 in Balad, Iraq, of wounds sustained in Muqdadiyah when he encountered an improvised explosive device during combat operations. Also killed were Spc. Miguel A. Baez and Sgt. John C. Osmolski.

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Fort Drum soldier killed in combat in Iraq

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — A soldier on his second tour in Iraq was among three soldiers who died this week of wounds from an improvised explosive device, the Department of Defense announced.

Sgt. Timothy R. Van Orman, 24, of Port Matilda, Pa., who also served in Afghanistan, was assigned to the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y. He is survived by his wife, Cadie, and their daughter.

Van Orman graduated in 2002 from Bald Eagle Area High School, where he played in the band.

“Tim was the kind of student who poured his whole heart into everything,” Scott Sheehan, his former band instructor, told the Tyrone Daily Herald. “He was an excellent trombone player and participated in jazz band, symphonic band and marching band. He took it very seriously, but at the same time, he knew how to have fun with it.”

Van Orman enlisted in 2003. He served in Afghanistan from August 2003 to May 2004 and in Iraq from August 2005 to July 2006. He left in September on his second deployment to Iraq.

Van Orman died Tuesday in Balad, Iraq, of wounds from the blast in Al Muqdadiyah, the Army said.

Spc. Miguel A. Baez, 32, of Bonaire, Ga., and Sgt. John C. Osmolski, 23, of Eustis, Fla., both of the 82nd Airborne Division, were also killed.

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Soldier killed in Iraq loved hunting, sports, music

The Associated Press

Army Sgt. Timothy R. Van Orman relished tracking deer and other quarry with his father on his family’s 110 acres and neighboring game lands. He never outgrew his yen for liver and onions, and it was hard to catch him sloppily dressed.

“Tim always liked to look his best,” said his mother, Kelly Van Orman. “He probably was my fussiest child when it came to clothes. He might wear blue jeans, but they had to be ironed and looking nice.”

Van Orman, 24, of Port Matilda, Pa., was killed Feb. 5 by an explosive in Muqdadiyah, Iraq. He was a 2002 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Drum, N.Y.

He played sports early on — loved NASCAR racing and the Pittsburgh Steelers — but discovered the trombone in junior high school. He went on to become a stalwart member of his high school jazz, concert and marching bands.

“When Tim was focused on something, he gave wholeheartedly, 100 percent,” Kelly Van Orman said. “It didn’t matter what it was.”

He served in Afghanistan, followed in 2006 by his wedding and then a deployment to Iraq. He is survived by his wife, Catherine, and an infant daughter, Halie.