Army Spc. Justin W. Linden

Died June 4, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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22, of Portland, Ore.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry, Army National Guard, Cottage Grove, Ore.; killed June 4 when his convoy was attacked by improvised explosive devices and rocket-propelled grenades in Baghdad.

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Former Wisconsin man killed in Iraq

Associated Press

CLINTON, Wis. — A former Wisconsin man is among the latest soldiers killed in Iraq.

Spc. Justin Linden, 22, who lived in Portland, Ore., was a 1999 graduate of Clinton High School.

He served with the Oregon-based Army National Guard’s 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry Regiment.

The Department of Defense said Linden was among five soldiers killed when assailants used an improvised explosive device and rocket-propelled grenades in an attack last Friday.

Linden’s mother, Donna Beckman, of Elkhorn, said her son moved to Portland with friends about four years ago. He and his wife, Sarah, married on Feb. 28, before he was shipped to Iraq.

“They were planning on having a big wedding reception when he got back,” she said.

“He was a very brave man and he died for his country,” Linden’s mother said.

Relatives of Linden and two other Oregon National Guard soldiers killed in the attack were comforted at a briefing on Sunday at the Guard armory in Woodburn, Ore.

Linden’s wife recalled meeting him while working at a KFC in Portland. She said Justin never missed a chance to brighten a shift.

“He was in the back singing (the Tim McGraw song) ‘I Like It, I Love It,”’ she said. “He made everybody laugh.”

Justin Linden went on to become manager of KFC restaurants in Portland but wanted a career in law enforcement, or possibly acting.

“He’d tell me on the phone to tell everyone to send him lots of food because he wanted to get fat,” Sarah Linden said.

“I miss everything about him,” she said. “It’s been hard because I had gotten used to him being gone (in Iraq), but it’s tough when you know he won’t be coming back.”

Funeral services are planned Monday in Portland.

Linden’s Wisconsin relatives plan a memorial service June 19 at Bethel United Methodist Church in

Elkhorn.

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Soldier remembered for sense of humor, easygoing personality

CLACKAMAS, Ore. — In the second of three memorial services this week honoring Oregon soldiers killed in Iraq, Spc. Justin Linden was remembered Monday for his comic charm, love of music and devotion to his country.

Linden volunteered for service after the shock of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Once in the war, however, he was able to joke in letters to his wife, Sarah, about the less-than-ideal conditions and the strange sights in the desert.

“One day we were driving and we heard, ‘It’s coming right at us,”’ Linden read aloud at the service. “We looked up and there was a camel about to T-bone our Humvee. It missed us, but it was pretty funny.”

Linden, 22, died June 4 when his vehicle pulled over to help a unit from New Jersey struck by a bomb. A second explosive device went off as Linden and another soldier, Sgt. Nathan Melton, exited their truck to secure the blast site.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski, attending his second memorial service in two days, told Linden’s family: “The people of Oregon wrap their arms around you ... Together we have lost a wonderful and courageous young man.”

Also killed in the attack were Sgt. Justin Eyerly, whose memorial took place on Sunday, and Lt. Erik S. McCrae, whose memorial service will be later this week. All were from the 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry, based in Cottage Grove. Officials have called the June 4 attack the worst single loss for the Oregon National Guard since World War II.

During the service at the New Hope Community Church, a montage of pictures showed Linden’s easygoing personality and playfulness. His wide grin was prominent in almost every snapshot.

Linden was shown as a chubby baby in a highchair and then as a tot with a ball. A few pictures later, he was a teen posing awkwardly for the camera. Next, he was in his cap and gown.

The last pictures showed Linden in the military — wearing his fatigues in front of a flag, laughing and smiling in foreign places.

Sarah Linden, Justin’s wife of just a couple of months, said they had planned on having two children after he had finished service.

“Nothing can compare to the love we had together,” said Sarah Linden, who met Justin while working at a KFC in Portland. “I am so grateful to say he was my husband.”

The fiancee of a man who helped respond to the roadside bombing of Linden’s group offered insight into Linden’s final minutes after the ambush.

Natalie Olson said her fiance, Kyle Olsen, was in the Humvee that came upon the bombed group of soldiers.

“He said Justin died almost instantly,” Olson said. (He) died within minutes of the bomb,” Olson said.

Olsen told his fiancee that he knew Linden well, and that the 162nd Infantry took the bodies of the dead back to camp to say their goodbyes.

“They had a memorial over their boots and helmets,” Natalie said. “They are still in mourning.”

After the service, Linden was buried at Willamette National Cemetery.

Besides his wife, Linden is survived by his parents, Donna Beckman and Wayne Linden, three brothers and a half-sister.

— Associated Press