Tuesday, May 22 2007 @ 08:38 AM EDT
Contributed by: tomw
Views: 831
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 DesMoines Register -- The war in Iraq has struck Tipton for a second time.
David Behrle, 20, who was Tipton High School's senior class president and commencement speaker two years ago, was killed Saturday while serving with the U.S. Army in Iraq, school officials confirmed Monday.
 Tipton is an eastern Iowa community of 3,155 people in Cedar County. The town's first Iraq war death occurred on Nov. 29, 2003, when Spc. Aaron J. Sissel, 22, an Iowa National Guard soldier, was killed in Haditha when his vehicle was hit by enemy fire.
Word of Behrle's death spread through the community after Masses on Sunday morning at St. Mary's Catholic Church, where members of his family are parishioners. He was the son of Dixie Pelzer of Tipton and John Behrle, who lives in Nebraska. His family was notified Saturday night.
"This is very sad. David was such a good kid, as Aaron was. We are just kind of like, 'Why Tipton?' " said Richard Grimoskas, superintendent of the Tipton Community School District.
Mark Weaver, a Vietnam veteran who is commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2537 in Tipton, said people in town were stunned to learn of the young soldier's death. Behrle's grandfather, Kenny Jedlicka, is active in the local American Legion post.
"It's a great loss to the community. It's a big shock for a town as small as this one to have lost our second soldier," Weaver said. He noted that a third area soldier, Staff Sgt. Don Griffith Jr., 29, of nearby Mechanicsville, was killed in Iraq in March 2005.
Behrle participated in football, golf and wrestling for the Tipton High School Tigers. He had just visited the school a month or two ago while he was home on leave and had chatted with some former teachers, school officials said.
"David was a great kid, an absolutely wonderful kid. Your typical Iowa kid - very involved and everybody liked him," Grimoskas said.
Mike Wade, Tipton's football coach, said Behrle had been an offensive lineman and a defensive end for the football team. He'd also helped Wade with his eighth grade American history class, working on the computer and assisting with classroom projects.
"David was a kid who worked hard all the time. It was just, 'There is a job to do and here I am,' " Wade said.
The U.S. Department of Defense had not announced Behrle's death as of Monday afternoon.
Friends said Behrle was among six soldiers who died Saturday when their Bradley Fighting Vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb about 30 miles northwest of Baghdad. They were serving with the 1st Cavalry Division, based at Fort Hood, Texas.
The bomb could not be detected by the Army's equipment because it was hidden under a manhole, in sewer water, fellow soldiers said.
Behrle is the 56th person with Iowa ties to have died in the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan since March 2003.
Mike Droll, a counselor at Tipton High School, said Behrle was well regarded by his fellow students. That's why they selected him as senior class president and as commencement speaker in 2005, even though he didn't graduate at the top of his class academically, he said.
"I think it said a lot about what everybody thought about him as a person," Droll added.
Residents of Tipton have varying political views about the Iraq war, but the entire community is proud of the sacrifices made by Behrle and other soldiers who have died, Weaver said.
"We are sorry that we have lost them. It's a big tragedy," said Weaver, a Marine Corps veteran.
Tipton-area soldiers who have died in combat are honored by having their names placed on a monument at the library in the middle of town.
"Now we will be putting another name on it. Don Griffith Jr.'s name is there, and Aaron's is there. Now David's will be there," Weaver said. |
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I would like to say thank you to you and the other five soldiers who were also killed in that blast for your service and sacrifice for our Country. And to your family and loved ones, I wish to extend my deepest sympathy.
"Loyalty And Courage"(5th Cav Motto)