Dod Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Private First Class Kenneth E. Zeigler II, 22, of Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, died May 12, 2005, in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle.  Ziegler was assigned to the Army's 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Georgia.

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U.S. Army Private First Class Kenneth E. Zeigler II, 22, who died May 12, 2005, in Baghdad, Iraq, will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, his mother said Sunday.

Vicki Zeigler’s son was living with her in Dillsburg,Pennsylvania, when he decided to join the Army in 2003. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, in Fort Stewart, Georgia.

When he went to Georgia, his mother followed. She said she last saw him January 21,2005, when she drove him to his barracks.

Zeigler said she hopes his body arrives this week. Until then, no funeral arrangements have been made.

Kenneth E. Zeigler said he had not seen his son since his high school graduation in 2001.

“He was always very busy,” the father said Sunday. In his younger years, he always tried to have a cat to carry with him.

Zeigler said when he and his wife separated and divorced, their 7-year-old son stayed with his mother.

“He was a fantastic artist,” Zeigler said. “He could pick up a pencil or a crayon or chalk and draw a phenomenal sketch. He was also a very good self-taught musician. He would hear a tune, and work and work on his guitar to master it. He was very talented.”

The father said he wasn’t happy when his son called about joining the Army, but he understood the young man wanted to serve the country. He then advised his son to make a career of it.

He could retire after 20 years with great benefits and the training for a good second career, Zeigler said.

“When he called me he was going to Iraq, I told him to keep his head low,” Zeigler said. “His unit, I am sure, was assigned to a hot spot. They knew the risks.”

The Humvee his son was driving rolled over a device on the road that exploded and killed him.

Zeigler’s family waits for the flight from Germany that will bring his body home.

HARRISBURG., PENNSYLYVANIA — An honor guard stood at attention, guns were fired in salute and a lone bugler played as a fallen soldier from Pennsylvania was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on Friday.

Army Private First Class Kenneth E. Zeigler II, 22, who was from Mechanicsburg and Dillsburg, died May 12, 2005, when the Humvee he was driving hit a roadside bomb near Sumarra, Iraq.

On Friday, Zeigler's flag-draped casket — covered in plastic to protect it from the steady drizzle — was laid to rest during a service attended by several dozen mourners.

After seven riflemen fired a salute three times, and the playing of "Taps," the flag was folded into the traditional triangle for Brigadier General Mark V. Phelan, Deputy Director for Special Operations, to present to Ziegler's mother, Vicki Ziegler.

Phelan presented another flag and medals, a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star, to Ziegler's father, Kenneth E. Zeigler of Halifax.

Family members said Ziegler was supposed to be on leave but gave his seat to another soldier whose wife was due to give birth, according to The Patriot-News of Harrisburg.