INDIANAPOLIS -
The Indiana National Guard says four soldiers with an Indiana-based National Guard unit died in Afghanistan when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb.
Indiana Adjutant General Martin Umbarger said Saturday the four members of the Valparaiso-based 713th Engineer Company were clearing roadside bombs along a supply route in southern Afghanistan Thursday morning when their vehicle struck one of the bombs.
The four men killed are: Staff Sgt. Jonathan M. Metzger of Indianapolis, Spc. Brian J. Leonhardt of Merrillville, Ind., Spc. Robert J. Tauteris Jr. of Hamlet, Ind., and Spc. Christopher A. Patterson of Aurora, Ill.
"I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of these brave citizen-soldiers. I continue to be humbled and honored by the courageousness of gallant young men and women who wear the uniform of this nation, willingly going into harm's way, to protect and defend our freedoms and the freedom of others," said Major General Umbarger. "We will honor their sacrifice and always remember them."
A fifth soldier was injured in the blast north of Kandahar and has been airlifted to a military hospital in Germany.
Metzger was a career military man, who spent eight years in the Marine Corps. His father-in-law said his effect on others was clear the day Metzger left for Afghanistan.
"There must have been 500 people. That is how much he was loved," Patrick Lair said.
Born and raised in Illinois, Metzger became a Hoosier when he married Indianapolis native Erica Lair. The couple settled in Indiana and Metzger joined the National Guard. It was not his first trip into combat and his job was dangerous. He and his squad with the 713th Engineer Company cleared the way for others.
"From my understanding, they swept the area with the robots, it came back clean. Jonathon got on the air and said, 'I will take the lead,' it was his squad, and just as soon as he too the lead, that is when the IED went off," Lair said. "I got the call last night at 6:15. It is just devastating. We all pray that none of us will ever get that knock at the door. My heart goes out to all the families of servicemen, all of them and the parents and the brothers and the sisters and the friends and the children."
Metzger, 33, was supposed to have been back home in Indiana for vacation in a couple weeks. Lair had just talked to Metzger a couple days ago and his advice was simple and sincere.
"I flat told him, I said, 'Son, keep your head down'," Lair said.
Metzger's tour of duty was scheduled to go until September.
"Jonathon was a hero, a true hero, and he still is in our hearts, because he lived by the creed to protect this country," Lair said. "God bless him and God rest his soul."
Patterson's parents told WMAQ-TV in Chicago that their son could have stayed in college, but wanted to activate with his unit, who he called "his battle buddies." They said Patterson didn't normally write home to tell them he was leaving on a mission, but this time, he did.
"We pray for the other families in the Indiana National Guard that have lost their soldiers. They were a family," his mother said.
Patterson reported for duty on Veteran's Day in November.
Leonhardt was the sixth of eight children in his family. Three of his older brothers also served in Iraq or Afghanistan. His family says Leonhardt wanted to become a police officer when he got out of the military.
"This is really hard to comprehend, that my goofy older brother I've been really good friends with my whole life is gone. Still sinking in," said Trevor Leonhardt.
Leonhardt was married this past September, two months before deploying.
Gov. Mitch Daniels said in a statement that he's praying for the soldiers' families.
"The Indiana National Guard is America's finest, reflected in its numbers, leadership, but mostly in the quality of the men and women it comprises. My prayers are joined with those of millions of Hoosiers who will hear this terrible news with deep grief but also with gratitude for the courage of those we have lost, and pride that we come from a state that produces men such as these," said Daniels.
713th Engineer Company Facebook page
