
LARGO, Fla. — The parents of Pfc. Louis E. Niedermeier want people to remember him as a man who was not afraid to defend his country.
The 20-year-old Largo man was killed Wednesday in Ramadi, Iraq, when his unit came under enemy small-arms fire. Niedermeier was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division based at Fort Carson, Colo.
“I hold my head up really high knowing I raised a boy willing to give his life up for his country,” said his mother, Denise Hoy.
Details surrounding his death have not been released, but Ed Niedermeier said his son was shot by a sniper as he stepped from a Humvee. The soldier served as a scout who pointed lasers at targets for other soldiers armed with missiles.
“They said he went down fighting,” said Hoy.
Niedermeier couldn’t wait to enlist in the Army,...