George J. Howell, Army, Private 1st Class -- Rest In Peace

George J. Howell, 24

Army, Private 1st Class
Based: Ft. Drum, N.Y.
1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry)
Supporting: Operation Iraqi Freedom
Died: December 21, 2007
Kirkuk, Iraq
Married, 2 children
Gender: Male
Hometown: Salinas
High School: North Monterey County High (Castroville)
Burial: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va.

As with many enlistees, Howell's attitude toward the Army varied. Some days he would tell his wife that he could not wait to get out and, perhaps, go to college. Other days he talked of making the Army a career and applying for one of the elite units.

But before he could pursue either course, his unit, the 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division, was deployed from Ft. Drum, N.Y., to Iraq...

On Dec. 21, Howell was killed when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb outside Riyadh, north of Baghdad. Four other soldiers were injured, two critically.

Howell's wife, Kristen, who is three months pregnant, was the first family member to be officially notified. She called her in-laws in California from her home in Watertown, N.Y.

"We're still in a state of shock," said Howell's sister, Chardell. "It doesn't seem real."

Howell's burial is scheduled for Jan. 25 at Arlington National Cemetery. It would have been his 25th birthday.

Read the entire LA Times article about Army Private First Class George J. Howell here. Find more about Private George J. Howell at Arlington Cemetery and at Army Times.

Soldiers with 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, dedicate their new patrol base in Riyadh, Iraq, to Pfc. George Howell, who was killed Dec. 21 when a bomb went off near his vehicle during a combat patrol.