SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - A soldier from South Dakota had just started his second tour of duty weeks before he was killed in Iraq.
Army Staff Sgt. Jeremy Vrooman, 28, died Tuesday from injuries suffered when an explosive device went off while on a combat mission, according to the Department of Defense. He died at a Baghdad hospital.
His mother, Lori Donahue of Sioux Falls, said her son's unit was raiding a house when it happened.
Vrooman joined the Army because his older brother, Justin, had.
"He did it proudly," Donahue said of Jeremy. "He was so proud to wear the uniform."
Donahue learned from her husband that Army officials were looking for them, but it didn't hit her until they walked up.
"I lost it. I just lost it," she said. "It's a horrible feeling. I don't want anyone to go through it."
Vrooman started his second tour overseas three weeks ago, she said.
He left behind his wife, Latrecia, and two children, Xavier, 4, and Jade, 9 months, in Germany, Donahue said.
Vrooman was assigned to 2nd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division in Vilseck, Germany.
Bruce Vrooman of Superior, Wis., said the structure of a military environment helped his younger son mature. He spent some time at the Custer boot camp in the Black Hills and that sparked his interest in the military, his father said. Jeremy later received his General Equivalency Degree.
"All the clichés you heard about the military being positive were what Jeremy loved," Bruce Vrooman said. "He loved knowing he was making a difference."
Jeremy Vrooman attended high school at Brandon Valley and then Lennox for part of his junior year, said Alan Rops, former Lennox High School principal.
He said Vrooman was a quiet and unassuming student who had an interest in science and electronics.
"He dies for his country and I have the utmost respect for his service," said Rops, a Vietnam veteran.
Vrooman is the 25th person to die in Iraq or Afghanistan who was from South Dakota or from a South Dakota military unit.
