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Army Spc. Eric J. Poelman
21, of Racine, Wis.; assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.; killed June 5 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle in Baghdad. Also killed were Staff Sgt. Justin L. Vasquez and Pfc. Brian S. Ulbrich.
Wisconsin soldier killed in Iraq
Associated Press
RACINE, Wis. — An Army tank driver who joined the military to get experience driving big equipment was killed in Iraq on his second tour of duty and two weeks before he was to come home to visit, his father said Monday.
Spc. Eric Poelman, 21, of Racine, was killed Sunday, his father, Matt Poelman, said in a telephone interview from his home in Longview, Texas. The father and mother, who moved to Texas about a year ago, were awaiting word from the military on exactly what happened, other than that their son was engaged in battle, the father said.
“Thank the Lord we were able to talk with him on Saturday,” the father said. “He had experienced the atrocities of war, just difficult things. We had pretty good confirmation from him that he was ready for the Lord and he knew where he was going if he were to pass on. That is some great comfort to his mother and I.”
Poelman is the 38th Wisconsin service member to be killed in Iraq. He was assigned to the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Battalion, his father said.
Poelman married his “sweetheart of three years,” Renate Klema, on May 1, 2004, his father said. She is living with her parents in Racine. The Poelmans lived in Mount Pleasant, just outside Racine, before moving to Texas. Eric Poelman has two brothers, Andy, 23, and Greg, 17.
Poelman joined the Army in January 2003 to get more experience operating big equipment like bulldozers and cranes after being home schooled in high school, his father said.
The soldier spent five months in Iraq in 2003 and was redeployed for another tour of duty in March after being based at Fort Carson, Colo., Matt Poelman said.
In Saturday’s call, the son reported he had a broken DVD player, and the parents already bought one to replace it by Monday, the father said.
“He was planning to come home in two weeks, at the end of June. We still got the DVD player laying here,” he said.
After high school, Poelman became interested in operating heavy equipment. He joined the Army to bide some time until he turned 21 and would find it easier to get such a job, Matt Poelman said.
“The military gave him a good option for driving tanks. So that became his pursuit in the military,” his father said. “While in Iraq, he had multiple roles. He could either be driving a Humvee on missions or he would be driving a tank on missions.”
The father called his son a “rambunctious young man. He loved to do snowmobiling. He liked to work on cars. He had fixed up an old ‘85 Buick Regal that turned out very nice.”
The soldier planned to serve four years in the Army, then join the Army Reserve, Matt Poelman said.
“He wanted to work on cars, on vehicles and heavy equipment, and maybe open up his own garage, that type of thing,” he said.
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Condolences :
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Prayers & Condolences For:
Eric J. Poelman
BY acidburnny on Jun 25, 2005 | |  | Rest in peace
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