Staff Sgt. William Alvin Allers III, 28, of Leitchfield, was killed and two other soldiers from the company were injured Tuesday, Maj. Gen. Donald Storm, the adjutant general of the Kentucky National Guard, said yesterday.
Louisville Courier-Journal -- FRANKFORT, Ky. -- An eighth Kentucky Army National Guard soldier -- and the second from the same company -- has been killed in Iraq.
Staff Sgt. William Alvin Allers III, 28, of Leitchfield, was killed and two other soldiers from the company were injured Tuesday, Maj. Gen. Donald Storm, the adjutant general of the Kentucky National Guard, said yesterday.
The names of the injured were not released.
Allers was killed when a roadside bomb exploded while members of the 617th Military Police Company based in Richmond were on patrol 40 miles north of Baghdad, Storm said. Allers had been in Iraq since late last year.
The injured soldiers were being treated in Landstuhl, Germany, and were expected to recover, although it was not clear whether they will return to their unit, a guard spokesman said.
The commander of the company praised Allers' courage.
"Staff Sergeant Allers distinguished himself with exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service to our nation," Capt. Todd Lindner said in a statement made yesterday from Iraq.
He also said Allers "worked hard to keep high morale in his team and was a catalyst for the morale in our entire company. His absence is deeply missed by all of his fellow soldiers."
Allers, a father of two, was promoted to staff sergeant posthumously and awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart and the Combat Action Badge.
In June, a team of about 10 soldiers from the 617th defeated more than 50 insurgents who had ambushed a convoy. One of the team's members became the first female soldier since World War II to earn a Silver Star for valor during combat.
On June 14, Spc. Michael Ray Hayes, 29, of Morgantown, also a member of the 617th, was killed in Iraq.
One hundred members of the Kentucky Guard have been injured badly enough to be sent home from the war, said David Altom, a guard spokesman. That number does not include the two soldiers injured Tuesday.
Last week, Army Sgt. Matthew L. Deckard, a former Elizabethtown resident on his second deployment to Iraq, was killed while on patrol in Baghdad, the Pentagon said.
Flags at half-staffStorm said Allers' family asked not to be interviewed because they were grieving.
Allers has been in Kentucky since 1999, when he arrived at Fort Knox after a stint with the Army in Korea, Altom said.
Originally from Baltimore, Allers enlisted in 1995. His active duty ended in 2003 and he joined the Kentucky Guard, Altom said.
He worked at an office supply company, Altom said.
Gov. Ernie Fletcher said the state will mourn Allers' death until after his funeral, which has not yet been scheduled. Fletcher ordered flags to fly at half-staff until then.
"I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to the family of Staff Sgt. Allers. He paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving his country in Iraq," Fletcher said in a statement.
Armor vs. better bombsThe bomb that killed Allers was buried near his patrol route.
Allers was riding in an armored Humvee when the blast hit, Storm said.
He said the armor was "the best we have over there" but the bombs have become more powerful.
The bomb that killed Allers was made using three unexploded artillery shells, Altom said.
"I don't know of any way of preventing them," Storm said of the bombings.
Of the eight Kentucky Guard soldiers who have been killed in Iraq, five died as a result of improvised bombs that were detonated while soldiers were on patrol or part of a convoy, Altom said.
Of the other three soldiers killed, one drowned after his Humvee flipped into a canal during a mortar attack, one was hit by a rifle-propelled grenade while part of a convoy, and one was shot with a rifle when his convoy was ambushed, he said.
Silver Star unitWhen insurgents confront U.S. troops in the open, American forces win decisively, Storm said.
He noted the June battle when about 10 members of the 617th defeated an ambush by a much larger force. Sgt. Leigh Anne Hester, a Bowling Green native, was awarded the Silver Star for valor during combat as a result.
Allers' team "survived more than 25 engagements with the enemy," Lindner said.
'Good Kentuckians'Storm said the last year has been tough for the guard, which has had about 1,500 troops in Iraq for the past six months or more. Currently, 1,422 soldiers are deployed in Iraq, he said.
Between now and January, hundreds of troops will return from Iraq, though he also noted as many as 700 more are poised to be deployed to either Iraq or Afghanistan by then.
The 617th is due to return in October or November, Altom said.
"I don't think I have had a good night's sleep in four years, and I know I haven't in the last two," Storm said. "This wears on your mind. It's just absolutely heart-wrenching. These are good, good, good Kentuckians who are sacrificing for our country."