News from
The Adjutant General's Department

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE      Nov. 9, 2004

No. 04-139

TWO KANSAS ARMY NATIONAL GUARDSMEN KILLED IN IRAQ

Two Kansas Army National Guard soldiers died in Iraq on Monday, Nov. 8, as they carried out their duties.

Staff Sgt. Clinton Lee Wisdom, Atchison, and Spc. Don Clary, Troy, died in Baghdad, Iraq, during a terrorist attack. Both soldiers were members of Battery B, 2nd Battalion, 130th Field Artillery. The battalion was deployed in January 2004 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"It is a sad fact of war that soldiers die, but we can take some small consolation in knowing that they died with valor," said Maj. Gen. (KS) Tod Bunting, the adjutant general of Kansas. "In carrying out their mission - to protect someone in their charge - these men exhibited the greatest commitment a soldier can have to his duty, his country and his fellow soldiers."

"We salute them and will always give their names a place of honor in the rolls of the Kansas National Guard," said Bunting.

Staff Sgt. Wisdom and Spc. Clary were providing protection for a convoy. A threat vehicle sped toward the convoy. Without hesitation and with complete disregard for their personal safety, they deliberately positioned their vehicle between the vehicle they were protecting and the approaching threat as the threat vehicle exploded. This allowed the protected vehicle to survive the attack and leave the scene. Staff Sgt. Wisdom and Spc. Clary were killed by the explosion.

"One of the most somber duties a service member must perform is to tell a family that their loved one has been killed in action," said Bunting. "We grieve with their families over their loss and will do whatever we can to sustain them in this time of sorrow."

The 2nd Battalion, 130th Field Artillery is headquartered in Hiawatha with units in Abilene, Atchison, Concordia, Horton, Marysville, Sabetha, Salina and Troy.

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