Army Staff Sgt. Michael A. Bechert

Died June 14, 2007 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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24, of New Castle, Ind.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2d Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Schweinfurt, Germany; died June 14 in San Antonio of wounds suffered when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device May 30 in Baghdad.

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Soldiers from Houston, Round Rock killed in Iraq

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Two Texas soldiers, including an Army reservist from Round Rock, have died from wounds suffered in an explosion in Iraq, the Defense Department said June 18.

Spc. Dustin R. Brisky, 26, of Round Rock, died June 14 in Tallil. He was assigned to the Army Reserve’s 952nd Engineer Company in Paris, Texas.

The unit was attached to the 92nd Engineer Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, at Fort Stewart, Ga.

On June 16, two soldiers died after an explosion near their vehicle in Rashidiyah. Killed were Army Sgt. Danny R. Soto, 24, of Houston, and Army Spc. Zachary A. Grass, 34, of Beach City, Ohio.

Both were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.

Also, Staff Sgt. Michael Bechert of New Castle, Ind., died June 14 at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. Bechert, 27, was wounded when his vehicle struck an explosive device May 30 in Baghdad.

Bechert was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division based in Schweinfurt, Germany.

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Indiana soldier dies of burns suffered in Iraq

The Associated Press

Army Staff Sgt. Michael A. Bechert was deployed to Iraq twice. Each time, he was awarded the Purple Heart. He was given the second medal in his hospital room.

His injuries were extensive. Burns covered 87 percent of his body. His limbs were removed in an effort to save his life, but a fungus developed.

His wife, Daniela, a native of Germany, struggled to find words to describe what it was like to be at her husband’s bedside.

“You wish you could take the pain from him. You wish you could take the pain from him so he didn’t have to suffer,” she said.

“When I told him ‘I love you,’ you can read from his tongue and lips back he said ‘I love you too.’ ” Bechert, 24, of New Castle, Ind., died June 14 in San Antonio of wounds he suffered in a roadside bomb explosion May 30 in Baghdad.

He was assigned to Schweinfurt, Germany.

Bechert also is survived by a 20-month-old son, Branden.

“I’ve already told everybody I will be back every year. I want to be back for his birthday, for the day he died and for Father’s Day, ‘cause I don’t want Branden to forget his daddy,” Daniela said.