IGTNT: Spc. Johnathan Lahmann

Today, the Department of Defense announced the name of one Soldier killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom.  According to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count the number of names released by the DoD is now 3888 and there is 1 more name of the deceased awaiting notification of the next of kin before being publicly released.

DoD Identifies Army Fatality

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Cpl. Johnathan A. Lahmann, 21, of Richmond, Ind., died Dec. 10 in Tikrit, Iraq, of wounds suffered in Bayji, Iraq, when a improvised explosive device struck his vehicle. He was assigned to the 59th Engineer Company, 20th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.

Monica Hardwick, a neighbor of the Lahmann family, saw a vehicle pull up to the Lahnamm's driveway, two Soldiers stepped out and walked to the door.  She told the Indianapolis Star:

“I saw the military out here and I knew it,” she said. “That hurts. He was a great kid.”
Hardwick said the soldier mowed her lawn as a teen. The last time she saw him was during the summer in his backyard with a friend. “They had a little fire pit going,” she said. “He was a great neighbor — very polite kid, good manners.”

The quiet, small city of Richmond, Indiana is in mourning tonight.  Flags are flown at half-staff in honor of Spc. Johnathan Lahmann, who was only 21, when he was killed  from an IED explosion in Bayji, Iraq.  

Johnathan Lahmann graduated Richmond High School in 2004.  His teachers and school officials spoke to the local paper, the Palladium Item:

Lahmann studied auto repair and planned to become a mechanic.

"He was a very good student," Roy Reisinger, the RHS vocational education teacher for auto mechanics, said Wednesday. "He was a great kid, good listener, good learner, real sharp, real nice young man."

Reisinger said Lahmann would come to his house on weekends to help the teacher work on his own cars.

"He would have been a top-notch mechanic," Reisinger said. "Right now I'm just shaken up. He was an all-around good young man and I'm going to miss him."

The school super-intendant order the flag flown at half-mast.  He told the paper:

It's a very visible way of paying our respect," Richmond Community Schools Superintendent Allen Bourff said of flying flags at half-staff. "We still have students at Richmond High School who were his classmates. For the students his memory is not only important but also immediate.

"We honor his memory and the sensitivity of the students he went to school with.

School officials are raising money for the family.  The school plans to honor Spc. Johnathan Lahmann in the near future.  Principal Barb Bergdoll told the news:

Lahmann's death "brought the Iraq war closer to our students today."

"They see it on TV, but it's so distant, so far removed," Bergdoll said. "But it came to our door today."

Johnathan Lahmann was loved by many friends, relatives, and the community.  He is survived by his parents, Alan and Linda Lahmann.    Funeral arrangements are pending.  The Patriot Guard Riders will help and support the family.  My heart goes out to the family, friends, and town of Richmond, Indiana.  Rest in peace, Johnathan Lahmann.  

I Got the News Today is intended to honor, respect and remind.  Click the IGTNT for previous diaries.

About "I Got the News Today" (IGTNT) I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor service members who have died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; its title is a reminder that almost every day a military family gets the terrible news about a loved one.
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