Army Spc. Levi K. Hoover

Died April 7, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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23, of Midland, Mich.; assigned to the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died April 7 in Zaganiyah, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit. Also killed were Capt. Jonathan D. Grassbaugh, Spc. Ebe F. Emolo and Pfc. Rodney L. McCandless.

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Soldier killed in Iraq was to be married

The Associated Press

MIDLAND, Mich. — A soldier who was engaged to be married and hoped to become a police officer has been killed in Iraq, his family says.

Army Pfc. Levi K. Hoover, 23, died April 7. He served with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, based at Fort Bragg, N.C.

The Pentagon had not released details about his death.

“He was a good person,” Hoover’s mother, Belinda Brewster, told the Midland Daily News for a story published April 10. “We were proud of him.”

Brewster said she talked with Hoover two days before his death, and he described a deadly roadside bomb explosion.

“I think he was worried,” Brewster said. “It was a dangerous place to be.”

Hoover graduated from H.H. Dow High School in 2002 and earned a criminal justice degree from Delta College before heading to Alaska to work as a ranger’s assistant.

He enlisted in the Army in 2005 and was deployed to Iraq the next year. He became engaged last Christmas Day to a woman he had met in Alaska.

In high school, Hoover wrestled and was a member of the steering committee, which set policy for the school, Brewster said.

“He was one of those quiet leaders. He led by example,” Doug Bradford, Hoover’s school counselor, told The Saginaw News.

Principal Janice Goodall described Hoover as “personable and polite.”

Funeral arrangements were incomplete.

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Three Michigan servicemen killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

Three servicemen from Michigan have been killed in Iraq, including a Navy SEAL from the Upper Peninsula and two soldiers.

Army Sgt. Todd A. Singleton, 24, of Muskegon, was fatally wounded April 8 as his unit fought enemy forces in Baghdad. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, based at Fort Hood, Texas.

Army Pfc. Levi K. Hoover, 23, of Midland, and three other members of his unit died April 7 in a roadside bomb explosion in Zaganiyah. They were assigned to the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division based at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Joseph Clark Schwedler, 27, of Crystal Falls, died April 5 during combat in Anbar province. He was assigned to Navy SEAL Team Four, based in Virginia Beach, Va.

Singleton, a 2000 graduate of Reeths-Puffer High School, was married and the father of a 5-month-old daughter. He was close to finishing his second tour of duty in Iraq and had planned to return to school, The Muskegon Chronicle reported.

“We are all devastated,” said his grandmother, Dorothy Singleton of Muskegon. She described Todd Singleton as a serious person, yet “funny and fun to be around.”

“He was the kind of kid who looked out for others,” she said.

Hoover enlisted in the Army in 2005 in Alaska, where he was working as a ranger’s assistant, and was deployed to Iraq the next year.

His mother, Belinda Brewster, told the Midland Daily News she had talked with Hoover two days before his death. He described a deadly roadside bomb explosion.

“I think he was worried,” Brewster said. “It was a dangerous place to be.”

A 2002 graduate of H.H. Dow High School, Hoover was engaged to be married and was planning to become a police officer.

Schwedler, son of Iron County Trial Judge C. Joseph Schwedler, was a class president, outstanding student and athlete at Forest Park High School. He was a member of the football, basketball and track teams.

“When it came to school work, Clark always went above and beyond what was expected. He was a natural leader,” Bill St. John, a retired teacher and member of the local school board, told The Daily News of Iron Mountain.

Forest Park football coach Bill Santilli said Schwedler was “an outstanding young man. His personality made those around him feel better and play harder.”