Feb 16, 2006 11:02 pm US/Central
Family Remembers Soldier Killed In Iraq
(WCCO)
The family of a Minnesota soldier killed in Iraq said he was fun and loved the military.
Cpl. Andrew Kemple, 23, of Cambridge, Minn., was killed Feb. 12 when his Humvee was attacked in Tikrit, Iraq, the military said.
His family looked through photographs and remembered Kemple on Thursday.
"He believed that he was bringing help and freedom and protection to other people and so he did not die in vain," said Deirdre Ostlund, Kemple's mother. "His death meant something and he is a hero."
"He was kind of sensitive," Ostlund continued. "He took a lot of teasing with the red hair."
Family was important to Kemple. His family said that his father, John, played a large role in his life. He also spent a lot of time with his cousins, Adam and Brandon, snowmobiling, ice fishing and dirt biking.
Kemple had a love for the military, even at a young age. One photo shows Kemple when he was 8-years-old, dressed in camouflage.
"After Sept. 11 (2001), he really, really felt, he just felt so obligated to do something," said Kemple's sister Andrea. "Finally he did enlist and he was the happiest. He was so happy about it. He was so excited."
Kemple was the person who operated the large gun on the top of the Humvee. On Feb. 12, he was in Tikrit, in search of reported weapons when his unit came under fire.
"Because of his position as a gunner, his position was at the top of the Humvee," Ostlund explained. "Although he was wearing his helmet and his protective body armor, he took small arms fire. He was shot in the neck."
The family knows that Kemple was able to request and receive ministerial services. They are grateful he did not die alone.
"He is absolutely our hero," Ostlund said. "He always has been and he always will be. He died doing something he strongly believed so strongly in."
Kemple's family is still making funeral arrangements. He will be buried at Fort Snelling cemetery.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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