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                         March 19, 2004

USMA '95 grad dies in Iraq

By Spc. Eric S. Bartelt
Features Editor 

Capt. John F. Kurth, a 1995 U.S. Military Academy graduate, was killed Saturday by an improvised explosive device while on patrol in Tikrit, Iraq. He was 31.

The native of  Columbus, Wis., was assigned to 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, based in  Schweinfurt, Germany, which is an infantry battalion assigned to the 1st Infantry Division (Mechanized).

He was killed along with Spc. Jason C. Ford, 21, of Bowie, Md., as they became the first casualties suffered by the Big Red One division, which took over control of Tikrit on the same day. His unit had been in Iraq for less than a month

The incident is still under investigation.

Kurth was a member of the 82nd Airborne Division, serving in Kosovo twice, but this was his first duty in Iraq. He served in Germany for three years and also commanded an infantry company.

“A great man, father and warrior fell this weekend in Tikrit,” said Capt. Jeffrey H. Powell, 1995 USMA grad and classmate. “From all of those who knew him, whether it be day to day or from our ridiculous times as plebes…we shall miss him.”

John is survived by his parents, John and Lauretta, and his 5-year-old son, John Aleksander.