Army Staff Sgt. William R. Fritsche

Died July 29, 2007 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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23, of Martinsville, Ind.; assigned to 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Vicenza, Italy; died July 29 near Kamu, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using small-arms fire during combat operations. Also killed was Maj. Thomas G. Bostick Jr.

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Martinsville High School graduate killed in Afghanistan

The Associated Press

MARTINSVILLE, Ind. — A soldier who graduated from Martinsville High School was killed in a battle in Afghanistan, according to the Morgan County Sheriff’s Department.

Army Staff Sgt. William Ryan Fritsche, 23, was killed July 29, said Morgan sheriff Capt. Brian H. Ringer. Fritsche was the son of the sheriff’s department Detective Sgt. Volitta Fritsche.

The younger Fritsche suffered fatal injuries when his unit came under a heavy small-arms and rocket-propelled-grenade attack, Ringer said.

Fritsche joined the Army in 2002, soon after graduating, and was promoted to sergeant in April 2005. He was selected in 2005 to be part of President Bush’s inaugural procession in Washington, D.C., as a member of the Old Guard, the Army’s oldest active-duty infantry unit, The Herald-Times of Bloomington reported July 30.

Funeral arrangements were pending. No information on the death was yet available from the Department of Defense.

Fritsche is the 16th person from Indiana to have died in Afghanistan or Pakistan since U.S. anti-terrorism operations began there in late 2001.