Rapid River soldier dies in Iraq
Rapid River soldier dies in Iraq
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MICKS
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RAPID RIVER (AP) — A 22-year-old from the Upper Peninsula was among three soldiers killed by an explosion in Iraq over the weekend, the Department of Defense said Monday.
Army Spc. Joseph P. Micks, 22, of Rapid River, died Saturday in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, when a makeshift bomb detonated near his vehicle during combat operations, the Pentagon said.
Micks was just months away from finishing his tour of Iraq and had plans to build a family with his wife in Germany, his mother, Amy Micks, said in a telephone interview.
‘‘He wanted to go and make a difference,’’ she said Monday night. ‘‘He wanted to help end things. He was a happy kid and always wanted to help others.’’
It had been more than a year since Amy Micks and her husband Kenneth last saw their son, whom they described as ‘‘an all-around good kid.’’
Micks was an altar server at the family’s church, a Boy Scout, an Eagle Scout, loved to collect sports memorabilia and fixed the computers of neighbors in their community, his parents said.
‘‘He always put forth extra effort in everything that he did,’’ Amy Micks said.
She said the family has received an overwhelming number of phone calls and visits since his death.
Micks was assigned to the 54th Engineer Battalion, 130th Engineer Brigade, Warner Barracks, in Bamberg, Germany.
While serving in Germany, he met and married his wife, Ramona, his mother said.
‘‘Through her wishes and Joe’s wishes, his burial will be in Germany, where they were going to build a family,’’ she said.
However, Micks’ body first will be flown to Michigan for a memorial service at the Gladstone Armory this weekend.
Micks was deployed for a one-year tour of Iraq in November, but there was talk that he could have been released as early as September, Amy Micks said.
‘‘He wanted to come home,’’ said his mother, who last spoke to her son two weeks ago. ‘‘He saw too much over there — all of the killing and his friends dying.
‘‘He was our hero. He stood up for our land and he gave everything he had,’’ she said. ‘‘We love him and wish he was here.’’
The other soldiers killed in the blast were Staff Sgt. Omar D. Flores, 27, of Mission, Texas, and Spc. Troy C. Linden, 22, of Detroit Lakes, Minn. They also were members of the 54th Engineer Battalion.
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