Army Pfc. Amy A. Duerksen, 19, of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.; assigned to the 4th Combat Support Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died March 11 from a non-combat-related injury in Baghdad.
SHE JOINED IN THE HOPES OF ATTENDING COLLEGE
Pfc. Amy Duerksen grew up an Army brat, the third generation of a military family. But she never really expressed an interest in joining the military herself, until she started looking into financial aid for college.
“She didn’t know where she wanted to go or what she wanted to major in,” her father, Maj. Douglas W. Duerksen, an Army chaplain at Aberdeen Proving Ground, said Wednesday.
A funeral for Amy Duerksen was held March 17. About 200 people attended the service at a church in Temple, Texas. Although her Army family moved around a lot, they lived mostly in Texas and Germany, Maj. Duerksen said.
“The two themes of freedom and justice were colossal for her,” the Rev. Shannon Soard said at the funeral.
Soard said Duerksen “had a kindness and gentleness for people that caused you to warm to her quickly. Warm smiles, encouraging words and affectionate hugs were the order of the day with Amy. She loved people, and they knew it.”
The Department of Defense has not released details of the incident that led to Amy Duerksen’s death, and her father said the Army has not given the family any more information.
“It doesn’t matter much at this point,” Douglas Duerksen said. “We’re focusing on the future rather than what happened in the past. We’re just thankful we know where she is.”
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