Army Staff Sgt. Donald L. Munn II

Died October 11, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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25, of St. Clair Shores, Mich.; assigned to Special Troops Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died Oct. 11 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit.

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St. Clair Shores, Mich. soldier killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. — A soldier from Michigan was killed when an explosive detonated near his unit, the Department of Defense announced Oct. 12.

Army Staff Sgt. Donald L. Munn II, 25, of St. Clair Shores, died Oct. 11 in Baghdad.

Munn was leading his platoon on a mission when he sensed something was wrong and tried to get all of his men out safely, said Dorothy Richards, his grandmother. She said Munn was the last to leave when the bomb exploded.

“He’s 25 years old and had a whole life ahead of him,” Richards, who raised Munn, told The Detroit News for a story posted Oct. 12 on its Web site. “He was fighting for his country trying to make everything right for his daughter and this is what happens.”

Munn recently married Jennifer (Salvador) Munn, a soldier from California he met while they were stationed in Germany. They had a daughter, Jordan Lynn, who is 1 year old.

Munn was assigned to Special Troops Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

A member of the Lake Shore High School Class of 2000, Munn attended Western Michigan University for a year before joining the Army.

“He wanted to go into the Army to fight for his country,” Richards said, adding that this was his second tour in Iraq.

Munn was scheduled to come home at the end of the month, but his stay was extended by three months. He wasn’t expected back until February.

“He was very quiet and very caring,” Richards said.

David Krenzer, who had known Munn since the fourth grade, said Munn also loved sports and was a fan of the Detroit Tigers and the Notre Dame football team.

“He was loved by everybody,” Krenzer told The News.

Munn is survived by his wife, daughter and grandmother, along with his mother, Rae Richards, of Bellaire; father, Donald Munn, of Las Vegas; and sister, Courtney Pyles, of Casper, Wyo.

Munn’s funeral will be held in California, where his wife and daughter live.

A local memorial service was being planned at Bagnasco & Calcaterra Funeral Homes in St. Clair Shores. No date has been set.