Shane M. Koele
Profile
Age: 25
From: Wayne, Neb.
Assigned to the 212th Military Police Company, Kitzingen, Germany
Incident: Army Staff Sgt. Shane M. Koele died March 16 at Shindand Airfield, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained March 15 when a land mine exploded near his Humvee in Shindand.
Died: March 16, 2005
Iowa soldier killed in Afghanistan
Associated Press
HARTLEY, Iowa — A soldier from this western Iowa city was killed about a week after he arrived for duty in Afghanistan, his father said.
Army Staff Sgt. Shane Koele, 25, died Tuesday, a day after he was injured when a land mine exploded near the Humvee he was riding in at Shindand, Afghanistan, the Department of Defense reported.
“He was an excellent leader, a natural athlete,” said his mother, Mary Donnenwerth of Hartley. “A lot of kids thought of him as a role model. I counted on him.”
Koele left March 8 for Afghanistan, said his father, Keith Koele, of Fonda. He said his son was patrolling the borders “and he was very excited about doing that.”
The younger Koele felt he was helping to stop the poppy trade, which could help finance terrorism, his father said.
Shane Koele last saw his daughter and wife at a U.S. military base in Germany, the day he...
Occupation
Incident
Prayers & Messages
I lost my brother to a foreign land;
I was too young to even understand
There was a knock at the front door,
then Momma wasn't smiling anymore.
The man at the door was a Marine;
the first I've ever seen.
Momma told me to go out and play,
then the preacher came
and they started to pray.
Tears ran down Momma's eyes,
and I heard her say, "Why, Lord, Why"?
Father stood there seemingly mindless,
all he said was, "We've lost another of
America's finest."
The Marine handed Momma a small velvet case,
inside was a Purple Ribbon, attached to a
gold heart with Washington's face.
I asked Momma if it were mine,
but she said, "It's your brother's, Sunshine."
"Momma can we send it to Kevin?"
She answered, "They don't wear Purple Hearts in Heaven."
...Author unknown