August 24, 2005

Vehicle carrying 278th members rocked by blast in Iraq

By BRYAN MITCHELL, mitchellb@knews.com

Two East Tennessee National Guardsmen died Monday and two others were injured in Iraq after their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device, according to family members of the soldiers.

The four Tennessee National Guardsmen were on a combat patrol Monday afternoon southwest of Samarra when the explosion rocked their vehicle, ejecting at least one of the soldiers.

Spc. Joseph "Joey" Daniel Hunt, 27, of Sweetwater and Sgt. Victoir P. Lieurance, 34, of Seymour died in the Aug. 22 incident. Lieurance leaves behind four children; Hunt was the father of two boys.

Two other members of the 278th Regimental Combat Team were injured in the explosion, including Spc. Charles Andrew Newman, who went to school with Hunt in Monroe County.

The fatal incident follows the deaths of three Middle Tennessee 278th soldiers last week.

The Tennessee National Guard headquarters in Nashville did not release any details Tuesday about the incident or the four men involved, pending the notification of family.

A release from the American Forces Press Services said the explosion occurred about 12:40 p.m. outside Samarra. One soldier died at the scene, and the other died after he was transported to a medical facility, the release said.

The two deaths bring to 10 the number of 278th Regimental Combat Team soldiers who have died while serving in Iraq. The 3,200-soldier Knoxville-based regiment is more than seven months into a yearlong tour of the Diyala province.

Nationwide, more than 1,860 troops have died while serving in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since the start of the conflict in March 2003.

Staff writer Hayes Hickman contributed to this report. Bryan Mitchell may be reached at 865-342-6306.

Sgt. Victoir P. Lieurance

Spc. Joseph "Joey" Daniel Hunt

Story Copyright to KnoxNews