Army Specialist Kurt E. Krout

Remember Our Heroes

Army Specialist Kurt E. Krout, 43, of Spinnerstown, Pennsylvania.

Spc Krout died near Balad, Iraq, while conducting convoy operations and an improvised explosive device detonated his HMMWV. He was assigned to the Pennsylvania Army National Guard’s Company A, 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Ilse Krout of upper Bucks County will never forget the last few moments she spent with her son, Spc. Kurt Krout, 43, before he returned to Iraq at the end of June after a 15-day leave.

''We sat on the couch and talked,'' said the 78-year-old Spinnerstown resident. ''He stood up and gave me a big hug, and then he said he had to give his sister a big hug too. I told him, 'God bless you.'''

Krout, a father of four and member of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard who lived with his mother, was one of two soldiers killed Saturday in northern Iraq when a roadside bomb detonated under their armored Humvee, military officials said.

Family, friends and co-workers at the Wal-Mart in Richland Township, where Krout worked as a manager, mourned the loss Monday.

''I never thought this could happen,'' his mother said. ''It will take a while before we can remember he's not coming back.''

Four members of Company A, 1st Battalion, 111th Infantry Regiment were in the Humvee, which was part of a supply convoy on a road near the city of Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad.

Sgt. Brahim Jeffcoat, 25, of Philadelphia was killed; Spc. Rudolph Roberson Jr., 27, of Philadelphia suffered serious head and leg injuries and was taken to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany; Sgt. James Newman, 33, of Schwenksville suffered minor injuries.

''Their vehicle was struck by an [improvised explosive device], and this caused it to go into an embankment and roll over,'' said Capt. Anthony Callum, commanding officer of Company A, at a news conference Monday at the 1st Battalion's Plymouth Meeting headquarters. The 111th Infantry, part of the 28th Infantry Division, is based in northeast Philadelphia.

Spc. James McIntosh, 38, of Johnstown suffered minor injuries when a second bomb went off near another Humvee in the convoy.

Callum was home on leave and is scheduled to begin his return trip to Iraq today. He said the company has been in Iraq since December, and its mission is to move supplies such as radios and weapons, as well as train Iraqi police and troops.

Pennsylvania National Guard officials said all of the soldiers in the convoy were wearing full body armor and their Humvees were ''up armored,'' or reinforced. They were on a one-year deployment.

Krout was divorced. His children are aged 14 to 21. The youngest two live with their mother in the Lansdale area, a family member said. Krout is a former Marine and was food department manager of the Richland Wal-Mart on Route 309 before he left for Iraq.

He was engaged to Barbara Kissel, whom he met while working at Wal-Mart. His son, Kurt Jr., 19, works at the Wal-Mart in the maintenance department.

Ilse Krout said she knew there was a problem early Sunday when three men in uniform came to her home in Spinnerstown, a section of Milford Township.

''You know right away something is wrong,'' she said. ''I thought maybe he lost a limb. I never thought he could get himself killed.''

Krout was described as a dedicated and motivated soldier, and a fun-loving guy with a bit of a stubborn streak once he made up his mind.

''He was a hard-headed guy,'' said Callum, who said Krout often was his driver. ''He was hard-charging and thought the whole company should be more hard-charging.''

Spc. Kyle Leishear of Quakertown got to know Krout on the drive to and from Plymouth Meeting for National Guard training. Because of an injury, Leishear was not deployed to Iraq.

''He was a fun-loving guy,'' Leishear said. ''When Kurt was around, you always knew you were going to have a good time.''

Krout joined the Marine Corps when he was 17 and served four years, according to Callum. He joined the Pennsylvania National Guard in 1995.

During his leave, Krout went to visit his friends at Wal-Mart. ''He wore his uniform and he was so proud of what he was doing in Iraq,'' said John Mims, a district manager.

''We heard Sunday and we're all numb,'' added Tim Dombroski, co-manager of the Wal-Mart. ''He was just here, and never in a million years did we think something like this could happen.''

Army Specialist Kurt E. Krout was killed in action on 08/06/05.