Story filed 8-25-05

By Edward Lee Pitts
Military Affairs

The deaths this week of two more Tennessee National Guard soldiers in Iraq have devastated their family members and caused at least one to question the war.

But a top commander with the 4,000-member 278th Regimental Combat Team said the lives were not sacrificed in vain, as many Iraqis realize the high price the troops have paid for freedom in Iraq.

Sgt. Victoir P. Lieurance, 34, of Seymour, Tenn., and Spc. Joseph D. Hunt, 27, of Sweetwater, Tenn., died Monday when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle while on a patrol near Salah Ad Din, Iraq, Maj. Gen. Gus Hargett, Tennessee Guard commander, announced Wednesday.

Sgt. Lieurance and Spc. Hunt, members of the 3rd Squadron, are the fourth and fifth soldiers in the 278th to die in the last nine days and the eighth and ninth killed since the regiment deployed to Iraq in November.

"We're scared, we're anxious, and we are just counting down the days until they are home," said Kaye Butler, the family readiness leader for the Sweetwater-based unit to which Spc. Hunt and Sgt. Lieurance belonged. "We are trying to stick together and support each other and get through."

Andre Lieurance said the death of his son, a Gulf War veteran who grew up collecting discarded military equipment near his Fort Lewis, Wash., boyhood home, means it is time to send all American troops home.

"I just don't see improvement," he said. "It seems to be getting worse. They can't even decide among themselves on a constitution."

Mr. Lieurance, a Navy veteran, said he sides with Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a slain soldier who protested the war by camping outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. Mr. Lieurance said he also would like to deliver a message to President Bush.

"Show us why we are there," he said. "If you can't, then get us out. I want to know why my son died."

Sgt. Lieurance leaves behind two stepdaughters and two sons between the ages of 23 months and 12. His wife, Penny, said that in phone conversations before his death Sgt. Lieurance talked about how soldiers were starting to wonder why they were there.

"It is a war between Iraqis that has been going on for years," she said. "They are out there risking their lives for nothing."

Spc. Hunt's family issued a statement saying he was an avid outdoorsman proud of his family, hometown, state and country. According to the statement Spc. Hunt, shared stories and photos from his Iraq experience while home on leave in June.

"He summed up his feelings during his break that it wasn't easy being there but that he and his fellow soldiers were proud of their service to their country," the Hunt family said.

Lt. Col. Frank McCauley, commander of the 278th's 2nd Squadron that lost three soldiers last week in an attack near Tuz, said the deaths have not gone unnoticed by the people of Iraq.

"As I have been out to villages and governmental meetings, many Iraq citizens, soldiers and local leaders have personally expressed their condolences to me," he wrote in an e-mail to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. "Our efforts have directly improved so many aspects of the issues presently confronting Iraq."

Donna Cagle, family readiness coordinator for the 278th's Athens, Tenn., unit, said her wireless phone has been ringing nonstop lately with family members wanting to discuss and mourn the recent deaths. A science teacher at a McMinn County elementary school, Mrs. Cagle said her principal allows her to keep the phone on during class.

"Our main concern is they're being more vigilant and not letting their guard down since they've been there for almost a year," she said.

Lt. Col. McCauley said the recent deaths are not due to a change in the insurgent threat in the area under the regiment's control near the Iranian border. He said insurgents are unable to mount continuous activities against the 278th, but their activities surge as money, manpower and opportunity permit.

Lt. Col. McCauley said insurgents may be targeting there to prevent Arab, Kurdish and Turkoman ethnic groups from coming together to create a unified government.

Spc. David Thomas, 41, of Sweetwater, and Spc. Charles Andrew Newman, 25, of Athens, were injured in the Monday explosion, according to Mrs. Butler.

Calvin Thomas told The Associated Press his son suffered serious head and shoulder injuries and had part of a leg amputated.

Mrs. Butler said the Sweetwater family support group will hold an open prayer vigil at the city's National Guard armory Friday evening. They also will begin collecting money on behalf of the families of the dead soldiers, she said.

Funeral arrangements are pending for the two men until families learn when the bodies will be returned.

The funerals for the three 278th soldiers killed last week will be this weekend, officials said.

"I don't want another family to go through this," Mr. Lieurance said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

E-mail Lee Pitts at lpitts@timesfreepress.com

On the Web: Photos by U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika of the 278th Regimental Combat Team are available on the Times Free Press Web site. Visit http://www.timesfreepress.com/kp.

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