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A pair of Purple Hearts for 113th soldiers

Jan-15-2005 » Filed Under: TF Olympia

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By Steve Walsh / Post-Tribune staff writer

MOSUL, Iraq — Two soldiers of the Indiana National Guard 113th Engineering Battalion were awarded Purple Hearts after their convoy was attacked north of Mosul.

Sgt. Steven Foss of Michigan City and Spc. Michael Kieszkowski of Rolling Prairie were injured last week when their convoy was struck by two car bombs as it passed through Tall Afar.

“I have said all along that we are coming into Mosul at a critical time, and I fully expect high risks,” said Lt. Col. Richard Shatto, the 113th’s commander.

The two men are recovering from their injuries and have returned to light duty, Shatto said.

The convoys for the 113th Engineering Battalion, carrying personnel and equipment from Kuwait, had stopped at a base south of Mosul, before being broken into a smaller groups.

Foss and Kieszkowski were riding in the same vehicle headed to Base Sikes, one of the U.S. military’s northern bases near the Syrian border, where part of the 113th is based.

In Tall Afar, their convoy was struck by one car bomb; then 500 feet later was struck by another car bomb and small-arms fire.


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