Army Staff Sergeant Amy Sue Krueger - Wisconsin Military Casualty Compilation - Afghanistan / Iraq

9 December 2013

Army Staff Sergeant Amy Sue Krueger - Wisconsin Military Casualty Compilation - Afghanistan / Iraq

Army Staff Sergeant Amy Sue Krueger, 29, of Kiel, Wisconsin, died on Thursday, November 5, 2009 at Fort Hood, Texas. Staff Sergeant Krueger was a member of the U.S. Army Reserves' 467th Medical Command Detachment, a Madison-based unit that helps treat soldiers for combat stress. She was killed with 12 other people when an Army psychiatrist opened fire on soldiers proceeding through deployment preparations at Fort Hood, in Killeen, Texas.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said that Amy Krueger was a 1998 graduate of Kiel High School in Kiel, Wisconsin. Kiel is an eastern Wisconsin town of around 3,500 people. She joined the Army shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. At that time she and a college friend joined the Army Reserves. Krueger had deployed previously to Afghanistan, in 2003. On that mission she, assisted soldiers dealing with combat stress as part of a military support unit. When killed at Fort Hood Staff Sergeant Krueger was preparing for another mission in Afghanistan. Friends remembered Krueger as, "... an outgoing, happy, caring and unselfish person;" and, "She had a toughness beneath the cheery disposition." Family is quoted as remembering her as feisty and determined. 

Information found on the Web site iwantthenews.com indicates Amy Krueger's 2003 Afghanistan mission was as a member of the Army Reserve Unit in Menasha, Wisconsin, which was a detachment of the 452nd Combat Support Hospital out of Milwaukee. Krueger was deployed to serve in a 24-bed hospital, treating mostly American soldiers with combat stress, and teaching anger and stress management classes.

The Web site freedomremembered.com notes that Amy Krueger was born on August 7, 1980 in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. She began college at the University of Wisconsin-Sheboygan. After basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, she was stationed in San Antonio, Texas, were she graduated as a Mental Health Specialist. In 2003 Krueger was deployed to Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. She returned home in the summer of 2003 and returned to college at UW Sheboygan and received an Associate's Degree in Arts and Science. During that same era she also graduated from Lakeshore Technical College's (LTC) Emergency Medical Technician program. She also graduated with honors from the Certified Nursing Assistant program at LTC. The Web site went on to say Krueger was the first female member of the Kiel VFW Post 6707. In 2008, while working on her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Krueger volunteered for another mission in Afghanistan. In October of 2009 she left home for that tour of duty. Before she left she got a tattoo with a tattered flag in the background with the words which read, "All Gave Some, Some Gave All. Sacrifice." 

 An obituary found on the Web site meaningfulfunerals.net notes that Amy Krueger was a member of St. Peter’s United Church of Christ in Kiel. She was an active athlete at Kiel High School and UW Sheboygan. She had played basketball and softball in high school. She was known to friends as "Kruegs." The Web site said, "She always enjoyed spending time with her family and friends, shooting pool, playing sheepshead, being social and lived every day to the fullest." She had played on two summer softball teams summer and also a volleyball team. One of the softball teams she played for took first place at a state tournament in Sparta.

The Greenbay Press Gazette indicates Krueger was a member of the UW-Sheboygan women’s basketball team that made it to the state championship game in 1999. She had attended the college from fall 1998 to fall 2001; she finished her associate’s degree upon returning in 2006. The Pres Gazette went on to say that teammates and coaches remember her as a reserve who made up in effort what she lacked in skill. The coach is quoted as saying, "[Krueger] was the most well-liked player on the team, and she was probably the hardest worker," 

 At the time of her death, Army Staff Sergeant Amy Krueger was survived by her parents Jeri Krueger and David Diem; her adoptive father Mark (Denise) Krueger; her sister Jessica; her brother Casey; a step brother Ryan Turba; step sisters Heather Turba, Michelle May, and Adrianne & Stacy Jackson; grandparents Jack (Sharon) Rief and Ray & Carolyn; Aunts and Uncles Bill (Sue) Rief, Sue (Mike) Wusterbarth, Steve (Leslie) Diem, Jim Diem, Debbie (Eugene) Kutz-Falle, Dan (Brenda) Krueger, Sara (Timm) Amundson; her special niece, Alicia; and, cousins Stephanie, Theresa, Jacqueline, Emily, Breanna, Taylor, Peyton, Michelle, Morgan, Natalie, Jason, Josh, Jeanna, Jenna, Shaun, Cheyenne, and Sierra. 
9 December 2013

Army Staff Sergeant Amy Krueger was laid to rest at Schleswig Cemetery, Town of Schleswig (Rockville), just outside Kiel, Wisconsin.

Information for this short biography about Army Staff Sergeant Amy Sue Krueger was pieced together from the following sources: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "2001 terrorism attack motivated Krueger: Friends recall Kiel native as sweet, caring and tough," November 6, 2009; iwantthenews.com, "KHS grad, Amy Krueger, killed in Fr. Hood shootings," November 6, 2013; freedomremembered.com, "Sgt Amy S. Krueger," November 10th, 2009; meaningfulfurnerals.net, "SSG Amy Krueger"; greenbaypressgazette.com, "Kiel soldier's mom says slain daughter Amy Krueger signed up to serve day after Sept. 11, 2001," November 6, 2009; Wisconsin Department of Veteran Affairs "Fallen Heroes Page"; and, CNN.com "War Casualties Page.

 

Note: This “Wisconsin Military Casualties Afghanistan Iraq Compilation” Daily Dadio blog Category is under construction. Go to the Cooldadiomedia Web site and the Wisconsin War Casualties Page for a list of names noted by date of death. 
[ If readers know of other military service persons with Wisconsin connections that are not on the Web site comprehensive list of fatal casualties, or notice errors, please email Bob Keith at keithrg13@cooldadiomedia.com ]