BON AQUA, Tenn. — Two Tennessee soldiers in the same Colorado-based unit were killed in Iraq over the weekend, the Department of Defense announced August 7.

Army Spc. Justin R. Blackwell, 27, of Paris, and Army Pfc. Jeremy S. Bohannon, 18, of Bon Aqua, were both killed by indirect fire in Baghdad.

Both were assigned to the 59th Military Police Company, 759th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade, at Fort Carson, Colo.

Bohannon enlisted in the Army in November and was on his first tour of Iraq, just nine months into his military career.

Bohannon was driving a vehicle while Blackwell was acting as gunner, said Blackwell’s girlfriend, Allyson Riggen, who lives in Craig, Colo.

“He believed very much in what he was doing,” she said. “He couldn’t wait to go over there, because he thought he was helping people.”

Blackwell grew up in a military family and has a brother stationed at Fort Carson. It was his third tour in Iraq after joining the Army in 2000.

Blackwell was known as a jokester who loved country music and pro wrestling, Riggen told The Gazette of Colorado Springs. The couple had their first child, Joshua, on March 16 and planned to have two more, she said.

Blackwell had two daughters, 8 and 2, from previous marriages.

On his MySpace page, Blackwell said: “I’m a simple boy from Tennessee who likes country music and playing with my kids. I love you Abby, Mackenzie, and Josh. Daddy misses you all very much and I’ll be home with you guys before you know it.”

Another Tennessee serviceman, Air Force Tech. Sgt. Joey Link of Portland, died August 5 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany of unspecified natural causes.

His family said Link, a member of the 39th Airlift Squadron, suddenly became ill after a trip to Africa. The cause of his death was not released. An autopsy is being performed.