Pennsylvania National Guardsman,
State Trooper, Killed in Iraq
Lightner 20th National Guardsman
to be killed in Iraq
FORT INDIANTOWN GAP (October
28, 2005)
–
Governor Edward G. Rendell announced today
the death of Pennsylvania National Guard
Staff Sgt. Daniel R. Lightner Jr., 28,
Hollidaysburg, Pa. His death brings the
number of Guard members killed in Iraq to
20.
The Governor said Lightner, who also served
as a Pennsylvania State Policeman, was
conducting combat operations in a 14-vehicle
convoy with the Pennsylvania National
Guard’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team in the
Ramadi Province when an improvised explosive
device struck his up-armored HMMWV Oct. 27.
Two other Pennsylvania National Guard
soldiers were injured in the attack: Sgt.
Bruce Morrow, 37, Pittsburgh; and Spec.
Timothy Collins, Central City. All three
soldiers are members of the 28th Division
Military Police Company, Johnstown.
“Daniel Lightner represented the true ideals
of a citizen soldier,” said Governor
Rendell. “Staff Sergeant Lightner was a
model soldier, and Trooper Lightner was a
dedicated law enforcement officer. He stood
out among his peers in both his military and
civilian occupations.”
Sgt. Lightner joined the active Army in 1995
and served on active duty for three years.
He joined the Pennsylvania National Guard in
1998.
“Sergeant Lightner was a dedicated soldier
who was recognized time and again for his
leadership and athletic achievement,” said
Maj. Gen. Jessica Wright, the state’s
adjutant general. “He represented the best
of our organization.”
Trooper Lightner joined the Pennsylvania
State Police in November 2003 and was
assigned to Troop J, Embreeville, as a
trooper in the patrol unit until his
activation in the Guard last January.
“Every member of the State Police family is
stunned and saddened by the death of Trooper
Lightner,” said State Police Commissioner,
Col. Jeffery Miller. “He served the
citizens of this state only briefly, but he
has made the ultimate sacrifice in the
service of his nation. He will not be
forgotten by the men and women of the
Pennsylvania State Police,” added Miller.
There are 14 Pennsylvania State Policemen
assigned to the Pennsylvania National Guard;
four of them are currently deployed.
Lightner will be posthumously awarded a
purple heart.
His mother, Judy Ann Lightner,
Hollidaysburg, survives the fallen soldier,
who had attended Lock Haven University.
After attending Lock Haven University, Staff
Sgt. Lightner received an associate’s degree
from Kansas City Kansas Community College.
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