Army Spc. Kimble A. Han

Died October 23, 2009 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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30, of Lehi, Utah; assigned to the 569th Mobility Augmentation Company, 4th Engineer Battalion, Fort Carson, Colo.; died Oct. 23 in Zhari district, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an IED Also killed was Spc. Eric N. Lembke.

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2 Carson soldiers die in Afghanistan

The Associated Press

FORT CARSON, Colo. — Two more soldiers based at Fort Carson have been killed in Afghanistan.

The Defense Department announced Monday that Pfc. Kimble A. Han of Lehi, Utah, and Spc. Eric N. Lembke of Tampa, Fla., died Oct. 23 of wounds suffered when their vehicle was attacked by an improvised explosive device.

The soldiers were attached to the 569th Mobility Augmentation Company, 4th Engineer Battalion.

Han, 30, entered the service in January 2008. He served a tour of duty in Iraq between February and May of this year and was transferred to Afghanistan.

Lembke, 25, also joined the Army in January 2008 and served similar tours of duty.

On Oct. 19, the Defense Department said four other soldiers with the same company had died in Afghanistan when their vehicle was attacked with an improvised explosive device. Killed were Staff Sgt. Glen H. Stivison Jr., 34, of Blairsville, Pa.; Spc. Jesus O. Flores, Jr., 28, of La Mirada, Calif.; Spc. Daniel C. Lawson, 33, of Deerfield Beach, Fla.; and Pfc. Brandon M. Styer, 19, of Lancaster, Pa.

At least 47 U.S. service members have been killed in October. Fourteen Americans were killed in helicopter crashes Monday.

On Oct. 3, eight soldiers based at Fort Carson were killed in an attack at a remote outpost in northeastern Afghanistan.

This has been the deadliest year for international and U.S. forces since the 2001 invasion to oust the Taliban. Fighting spiked around the presidential election in August, and 51 U.S. soldiers died that month — the deadliest for American forces in the eight-year war.

The latest deaths came as President Barack Obama prepared to meet his national security team for a sixth full-scale conference on the future of the troubled war.

Obama is debating whether to send tens of thousands more troops to the country, while the Afghan government is rushing to hold a Nov. 7 runoff election between President Hamid Karzai and challenger Abdullah Abdullah after it was determined that the August election depended on fraudulent votes.

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Family remembers Utah soldier killed in Afghanistan

The Associated Press

SALT LAKE CITY — The family of a soldier killed in Afghanistan plans to have him buried at the Utah State Veterans Cemetery near Camp Williams.

Army Pfc. Kimble A. Han, of Lehi, died Friday after enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.

The 30-year-old entered the service in January 2008. He served a tour of duty in Iraq between February and May of this year and was transferred to Afghanistan.

His mother, Lisa Barnes, says he expressed fear the last time he called home from Afghanistan. She says she told him to be careful.

Jerod Han says his brother loved the Army because it gave him purpose and meaning and it seemed like protecting freedom was what he was meant to do.

Han leaves behind a wife, Melissa, and three stepsons.

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Soldier buried with full military honors

The Associated Press

SARATOGA SPRINGS, Utah — A Utah solider who was killed by a roadside bomb Afghanistan was eulogized as a patriot who sacrificed his life for his country.

Army Spc. Kimble Han, 30, a combat engineer, was buried Saturday with full military honors at Camp Williams.

Han was inside a vehicle that was struck by an improvised explosive device Oct. 23 in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

The explosion also killed Army Spc. Eric N. Lembke, 25, of Tampa, Fla.

Military leaders, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert and Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, attended Han’s funeral at a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ward house in Saratoga Springs.

Han left a wife, Melissa, and three stepsons, Caleb, 5; Austin, 9; and Brenden, 12.