Sioux City Journal -- LINCOLN (AP) -- An injured soldier Army Infantryman from Beatrice has died from injuries he sustained from a roadside bomb in Iraq.
Spec. Darren Howe died in Texas on Thursday, said Paul Fox, owner of Fox Funeral Home in Beatrice, which is handling arrangements.
Howe, 21, suffered severe burns on Oct. 17 in Iraq when the vehicle he was driving hit a roadside bomb, his stepfather, Greg Klaus, said last week. Howe and five other soldiers were taken first to Germany and then to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, for treatment, Klaus said.
A message left at the home of Howe's family in Beatrice was not immediately returned Friday night.
Last week, Klaus said Howe helped pull soldiers to safety after the bombing. Howe, a married father of two young children, suffered second- and third-degree burns to his face, hands and arms, and smoke inhalation, Klaus said.
Howe graduated from Beatrice High School in 2003 and had a strong desire to pursue a career in the military, said Jason Sutter, the school's principal. Sutter said last he heard, Howe's condition was improving.
"We were very grateful he was OK, and that he was back and safe," he said.
Howe was stationed at Fort Benning, Ga., and was deployed to Iraq in January.
Fox said a funeral would take place sometime next week, after Howe's family returned from Texas.