Army Spc. Joseph M. Lancour

Died November 10, 2007 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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21, of Swartz Creek, Mich.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 503rd Airborne Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Vicenza, Italy; died Nov. 10 in Aranus, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when their patrol was attacked by direct fire from enemy forces. Also killed were 1st Lt. Matthew C. Ferrara; Sgt. Jeffery S. Mersman; Spc. Sean K. A. Langevin; and Spc. Lester G. Roque.

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Ludington native dies in Afghanistan combat

The Associated Press

LUDINGTON, Mich. — A U.S. soldier from Michigan was killed in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan, his parents said Nov. 12.

Spc. Joe Lancour, 21, was killed Nov. 10 by small-arms fire during an ambush, his mother, Starla Owen, and his father, Rob Lancour, told the Ludington Daily News.

Joe Lancour was one of five soldiers whose patrol was attacked Nov. 9 in Aranus, Afghanistan, the Defense Department said. Two of the soldiers died that day and Lancour and two others died Nov. 10.

Joe Lancour graduated in 2004 from Ludington High School, which held a moment of silence in his honor Nov. 12. He had recently moved to Swartz Creek, located about 170 miles southeast of Ludington in Genesee County.

After enlisting in the Army in 2006, Lancour trained as a paratrooper at Fort Benning, Ga., and was assigned to the 173rd Airborne Brigade, his parents said. He served in Italy before being deployed to Afghanistan.

“He was proud of what he did,” Owen said, adding that her son was upset to learn his unit had been attacked while he was home on leave in August. “He said he had to get back for them.”

His parents described Lancour as a fun-loving youth who enjoyed skateboarding, camping and fishing. He played on Ludington High School’s football and baseball teams.

“He was kind of a skinny football player, but he’d go out there and play hard,” said Steve Brockelbank, the school’s athletic director. “He was a good kid and he got along with others.”