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- The People Behind The Sacrifice
Army Staff Sgt. Joseph M. Weiglein
Died May 29, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom
31, of Audubon, N.J.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died May 29 in Ilbu Falris, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his position during a dismounted patrol. Also killed was Sgt. Richard V. Correa.
Soldier from New Jersey killed in Iraq
The Associated Press
AUDUBON, N.J. — A 31-year-old soldier from New Jersey was killed in Iraq after an improvised explosive device detonated near him while he was on foot patrol, military officials said May 31.
Staff Sgt. Joseph M. Weiglein, of Audubon, died May 29 in Ilbu Falris, a town south of Baghdad. Sgt. Richard V. Correa, 25, of Honolulu, was also killed in the attack.
They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), home-based at Fort Drum, N.Y.
The 2nd Brigade Combat Team deployed to Iraq in July 2006 and was recently extended.
Weiglein was in the Army for 12 years, said his father, Michael Weiglein. He had previously been stationed overseas in South Korea and Kuwait and in Kansas, Tennessee and Georgia.
Prior to his assignment with the 10th Mountain Division, Weiglein worked as a recruiter, but it wasn’t enough activity for him.
“He was not to be behind a desk,” said his mother, Ellen Weiglein. “He needed to be up and doing.”
Weiglein was a 1994 graduate of Audubon High School, where he played on the golf team.
He had visited Haviland Elementary School, which he attended, while home on leave in January and answered students’ questions. The school had “adopted” him and sent his unit treats at the suggestion of Weiglein’s best friend, Mike Nolan, whose mother is a secretary at the school.
“He was a great friend and a great soldier,” Nolan said. “He touched so many people’s lives.”
Weiglein is also survived by two sisters and his wife, Jennifer.