Another Native Iowa Soldier Killed in Iraq by IED

The story coming out of Iraq is sounding too familiar: “Soldier Killed in Iraq by Improvised Explosive Device” -- while the acronym IED has become more commonplace in American households. Tragically, this familiar story has rung true in Iowa for the second time this week. Army Pfc. Michael Patrick Pittman, 34, was killed by an IED in Baghdad on Friday. Pittman is a native of Davenport, where he lived with his wife and four children until he enlisted in the Army and moved to Kansas in 2005.

Earlier this week, Iowa lost another native son, Cpl. Llythaniele Fender, 21, who was also killed in Iraq by an IED. Fender and Pittman, respectively, were Iowa’s 57th and 58th fallen soldier with Iowa ties to have died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

To read Pittman’s family and friend’s reactions to his death, go to the “Des Moines Register” for more extensive coverage.