Friday, September 08 2006 @ 08:07 AM EDT
Contributed by: tomw
Views: 1,888
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 Freemont Tribune -- OMAHA (AP) — The Nebraska National Guard said Wednesday that an Omaha soldier killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq was a scout with a Fremont-based Guard unit.
Germaine Debro, 33, was killed just after midnight Monday morning while on patrol near Balad, said a news release from the Guard. It also said Debro had been posthumously promoted to sergeant.
 “He was a committed soldier who believed in what he was doing,” said Maj. Gen. Roger Lempke, who commands the Nebraska National Guard as adjutant general for the state.
Two other soldiers with him also were wounded and were being treated in Iraq. Their names and conditions were not released.
Debro attended Benson High School in Omaha for a year, but graduated from high school in Arkansas in 1991.
Debro trained and served as a tank crewman while on active U.S. Army duty, starting in 1994.
After his discharge, he signed up with the Nebraska National Guard in 1997. In 2001 he joined the Fremont-based portion of Troop B, 1st Squadron, 167th Cavalry Regiment. The unit deployed to Iraq in March.
The 1st Squadron of the 167th also was the unit of Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Hansen, 31, of Cairo, who died Aug. 27 of injuries suffered during a Humvee accident on Aug. 21. Hansen’s funeral was Tuesday in Minden.
Debro’s mother, Priscilla Debro of Omaha, said her son went to Iraq so other men with families could stay home.
Germaine Debro was not married and did not have children.
“He died a proud soldier,” his mother said.
His father, Alvin Debro, said he wishes his son hadn’t decided to enlist.
“I didn’t understand it, didn’t agree with it, but I respect it,” he said. |
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I would like to say thank you for your service and sacrifice for our Country. And to your family and loved ones, I wish to extend my deepest sympathy.
A grateful citizen