 Des Moines Register -- A soldier from northwest Iowa who was serving his third combat tour overseas has been killed in Iraq, the U.S. Department of Defense said today.
U.S. Army Sgt. LeRoy O. Webster, 28, of Hartley died Saturday after being shot near Kirkuk while on patrol, military officials said.
Webster was a 1999 graduate of Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School, where he wrestled and played on the golf and baseball teams.
He leaves behind a wife, Jessica, who was his high school sweetheart, and three young daughters, Natasha, Kaydence and Jadyn.
“He was a good guy. He had a lot of friends. He liked to have fun,” recalled Jim Thomas, a social studies teacher and the athletic director at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn.
The Webster family had recently moved to Hartley from Texas, where LeRoy Webster had been stationed prior to being deployed to Iraq. Both the fallen soldier and his wife are from families who are well-liked and have deep roots in the area, Thomas said. His parents, Donald and Crystal Webster, still reside in Hartley.
“In a close-knit community like this, it hits everybody pretty hard,” Thomas said.
Two of the Webster children attend Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn schools — one is in third grade, the other is in kindergarten — and the third is a preschooler, said Lynn Evans, the district’s superintendent. He said a counselor would be available for the district’s students Tuesday.
Webster was born in June 1980 in Spencer and grew up in Hartley. He joined the military as a member of the Iowa Army National Guard, and in 2002 he was called to duty with an Algona-based National Guard unit that provided security at a Department of Defense installation in Newport, Ind.
In 2004 and 2005, Webster served in Afghanistan with a Council Bluffs-based National Guard unit of the 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry. After that deployment, he moved to Sioux Falls, S.D., and transferred to the active-duty U.S. Army in 2006, said Lt. Col. Gregory Hapgood Jr., the Iowa National Guard’s public affairs officer. From October 2006 to January 2008, he served with the Army in Baghdad.
Webster’s last deployment to Iraq began in January, Hapgood said. He was serving with Battery B, 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, of Fort Hood, Texas.
Webster’s family issued a statement tonight:
“LeRoy was a wonderful husband and terrific dad to his three beautiful daughters. He was proud to serve in the United States Army. He will forever be deeply missed by his family and friends.”
Webster received about a dozen awards and decorations during his military career, including the Army Commendation Medal and the Army Achievement Medal.
He was the 71st person with ties to Iowa to die in Iraq or Afghanistan from combat, illness or accident since March 2003.
Funeral arrangements are pending. |
---
Dixie Kile