Fort Leonard Wood soldiers killed in Iraq

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. -- Hearts were heavy Friday at Fort Leonard Wood as word spread that three combat engineers based at the central-Missouri Army post had been killed in Iraq.

The fatalities were the first for the 5th Engineer Battalion. The military identified the victims Friday as Maj. Christopher Splinter, 43, of Platteville, Wis.; Capt. Chris Soelzer, 26, of South Dakota; and Sgt. Benjamin Biskie, 27, of Tucson, Ariz.

Col. Paul Kelly, who serves as the battalion's operational commander when soldiers are at Fort Leonard Wood, said the post was planning a memorial service, but details still were being finalized.

"This was a tremendous loss, and it is a difficult time for our families and our community," said Kelly, who spoke to reporters Friday at the post.

The men died Wednesday morning when a homemade bomb blew up as the soldiers traveled in a convoy near Samarra, north of Baghdad. Kelly said he had no other immediate details about the incident, which remained under investigation.

Kelly said he knew Splinter and had met the other two when he visited the battalion about two months ago in Iraq.

"They were doing what they wanted to be doing, which was this mission," Kelly said.

The battalion, attached to the 4th Infantry Division, was deployed April 2 to Iraq. Their mission was to raze obstacles and help the division advance during hostilities by laying roads and bridges. Since then, the battalion has been helping rebuild Iraq.

Rebuilt six schools

During Kelly's visit to Iraq, the men talked with pride about rebuilding six schools and repairing other infrastructure ripped apart by the war.

"I remember sitting down with Major Splinter and discussing the operation," Kelly said. "We talked about his family. He also expressed pride in being able to serve his country."

While there, Kelly said he visited one of the schools the combat engineers helped to rebuild and was touched by the affection the Iraqi children showed the soldiers.

"They really appreciated what the U.S. Army was doing to help their country get back on its feet so they can enjoy some of the freedoms that we have here but sometimes take for granted," Kelly said.

The soldiers in the battalion were told immediately about the deaths of their comrades, Kelly said.

"The soldiers are hit hard by the loss of their friends and fellow soldiers, but they are holding up well," Kelly said. "They understand they've got a mission to do."

When the battalion deployed, families had hung yellow ribbons at the battalion's headquarters on post. Those still were intact Friday. American flags also hung outside many businesses.

Kelly declined to discuss personal details of the soldiers' lives at the request of their families.

Biskie was remembered as a loving husband and father to his 6-year-old son. Although the Army listed Biskie as a resident of Vermilion, Ohio, relatives said he only spent a short time there. He was born and raised in Tucson.

"He loved his family and friends and serving in the United States Army," Biskie's wife, Marcie, said in a statement Friday night. "He was proud of his country, and he fully believed in his mission in Iraq. He was proud to serve there with his brothers and sisters in arms in the Fighting Fifth."

Soelzer, a 1995 graduate of Sturgis, S.D., High School, was single. Josh Soelzer, 25, a brother, also served in Iraq and was coming home for the funeral, likely to be held next week, their father said.

Steve Soelzer, who ranches east of Piedmont, said that after high school his son earned a scholarship to attend Kemper Military School in Boonville, Mo. He later enrolled at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, where he received a degree in chemical engineering.

Friends remembered Soelzer as a quiet man who put academics first.

"We had a lot of senior classes together -- chemistry, biology. And I think he was close to straight A's," Dave Mueller, who played high school football with Soelzer, told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader. "To be honest, he was real quiet, real shy, except to some of his friends. He was also a person who, you'd barely have to know him and he'd do everything for you. He was just a real nice guy."