Earl D. Werner was an animal lover who raised horses and enjoyed fishing. “He actually went fishing in Baghdad,” said his father-in-law, Duane Royer. “It wasn”t any fish he”d want to keep, but he did it.”

The Idaho native was a truck driver who became a decorated soldier after joining the Oregon Army National Guard. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his service in Iraq and later returned there for his third deployment. Werner, 38, was killed Aug. 28 in Rashid, Iraq, when insurgents attacked his vehicle with a penetrating explosive. His hometown was listed as Mondovi, Wis., and he was based in Portland, Ore. “He had such a great caring for the other people he worked with in the National Guard,” his father-in-law said. “He felt very responsible for them. That was a driving force of him wanting to do it again.

He wanted to take care of people.” That sense of caring also extended outside of work. When a landslide blocked a road near his home, Werner rounded up equipment to clear the way, Royer said. “He was a very talented young man who knew how to do his job,” he said. Werner is survived by his wife, Casey, and his 19-year-old son.

Sgt. Earl D. Werner, 38, of Amboy Washington. He attended school in New Plymouth and moved to La Center, Washington and later to Amboy. On May 10, 2007, Earl married the love of his life, Casey.

He was a truck driver and a heavy equipment operator and worked for Red’s Rock in Battleground, WA for the past two years. Earl had two years of prior Army Service before enlisting in the Oregon Army National Guard on September 12, 2001. Earl had many hobbies: fishing, hunting, horses, riding his Harley as well as four-wheeling, driving his jeep, cooking, taking care of other people, including his neighbors.

Earl served 2 previous tours of duty in Iraq and was on his third, assigned to the 41st Special Troops Battalion, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the Oregon Army National Guard in Portland.

He and another soldier died August 28 in Rashid, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their vehicle with an explosively formed penetrator. During his time with the Oregon National Guard, Earl was awarded the Bronze Star, two Army Commendation Medals and the Combat Action Badge.

He is survived by his wife, Casey; son, Justin; sister, Barbara Pierce; along with many friends and brothers.

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