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Peter
Wagler—March 2006 Shipment
Honoree
Army
Cpl.,18, of Partridge, Kan. ; assigned to the 1st Battalion,
12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry
Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died Jan. 23, 2006 of wounds
sustained that day when an improvised explosive device
detonated near his M1A2 Abrams tank during patrol operations
in Baghdad. Also killed was Staff Sgt. Lance M.
Chase.
Family mourns
slain soldier from Kansas
Source:
Suzanne Perez Tobias, The Wichita Eagle
Peter Wagler was 7
when his father, David, made him a plaque with the meaning of
his name --"rock" -- and a Bible verse, Joshua 1:9: "Have I
not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage," it said.
"Do not be afraid nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is
with you wherever you go." The Lord was with Wagler when he
joined the Army a year ago, his father said. And family
members said they felt the Lord's presence Thursday when they
gathered to grieve his death.
Cpl. Wagler, a
native of Partridge, died Monday in Iraq. According to a
Department of Defense report, Wagler and another U.S. soldier
were killed and two others were injured when a bomb exploded
near their M1A2 Abrams tank while they were conducting patrols
in Baghdad.
Wagler, fifth of
David and Trish Wagler's eight children, was 18. Older brother
Vanya, a medical student at Oklahoma State University,
remembers his mischievous side. "He was full of energy,
carefree," Vanya Wagler said. "I remember him using fireworks,
doing different things just to have a good
time."
From the age of 5,
Peter Wagler talked about joining the military, his father
said. Posters of jet fighters decorated his bedroom wall. He
craved speed and excitement. Like his siblings, he was
home-schooled and active in the family's church, Berean
Baptist in Hutchinson. At 16, he got a job at a local storage
company but was frustrated when managers didn't let him
operate the heavy machines. "He'd been operating power
equipment since he was 10 around here," his father said. The
family lives on a farm just outside Partridge, in rural Reno
County, though David Wagler works as a financial
adviser.
So it was little
surprise when Peter Wagler told his parents in late 2004 that
he planned to enlist in the Army. Still, they struggled with
letting him go. "We had many discussions," David Wagler said.
"It wasn't our preference. But he had such a good attitude,
and it was clear that this wasn't just a whim.... We thought
it was the right thing to do, to give him our blessing, and we
did." He completed basic training at Fort Knox, Ky., and then
served at Fort Hood, Texas. He was assigned to the 1st
Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team --
the "Iron Horse." His tank crew was deployed to Iraq in
December.
Before leaving,
Wagler wrote a letter and gave it to his parents to put in the
family's safe. It was to be opened only if he didn't make it
back. They opened the letter Tuesday. "He said he had no
regrets," David Wagler said. "He said, 'I would rather live my
life fully and die young, than live
a long and boring life.' "
The family was together for the
last time at Thanksgiving. Peter Wagler's two older sisters --
Maria, a missionary who is helping people with AIDS in South
Africa, and Rochelle, a mother of two in Missouri -- had
traveled back to the farm for the holiday. Most of the family
gathered in the same dining room Thursday morning, but the
table had been moved to make room for television cameras.
David and Trish Wagler sat on the couch, flanked by their
children. After David Wagler read a prepared statement and
answered a few questions, a reporter asked Trish Wagler to
comment: What went through her mind when she got the news?
What about her son's life makes her most proud? Trish Wagler
paused, gripping the microphone, but said nothing. She turned
to her husband and with tears in her eyes, shook her head.
"It's a good question," David Wagler said. "But she's not able
to answer."
Fifteen-year-old
Esther Wagler, sitting on the arm of the sofa, later remarked
that Peter Wagler would probably shake his head and laugh at
the dining room-turned-pressroom. "He would like all the
attention we're getting," she said. "He would get a real kick
out of it." Family members haven't made funeral arrangements
yet because they're waiting to learn when Wagler's body will
arrive back in the U.S.
David Wagler said
they have been overwhelmed with phone calls and other shows of
support. Wednesday was David Wagler's birthday, and he had to
renew his driver's license. "The driver's license lady could
hardly fill it out, she was crying so much," he said. "It's
just had that kind of effect on
everybody." |
