2 more from Illinois past few days

From Fox News Chicago - A soldier from Plainfield has died in Afghanistan. The Department of Defense said Private First Class Andrew Meari died when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. A 24-year-old army specialist from Massachussetts also died in the attack.

From the St. Louis news: Springfield, IL (KSDK) -- A 25-year-old soldier from Rochester, Illinois was killed earlier this week while in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the US Department of Defense said Friday. Spc. James Young died November 3 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan from wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device (IED).

Specialist Young was assigned to the 863rd Engineer Battalion out of Darien, Illinois. His job was to travel ahead of other vehicles and convoys to clear the road of any explosives. Family members said Young went to Afghanistan earlier this year and had been home on leave less than two weeks ago.

Rochester is located about seven miles south-southeast of Springfield, Illinois.



Thank you, Grace for keeping this thread going.