A 33-year-old soldier from Florida who was serving in Iraq was killed last week in an insurgent attack, the Army said Sunday.
Staff Sgt. Wentz Jerome Henry Shanaberger III of Naples was investigating a suspicious vehicle Wednesday when he was attacked by a group using small arms and a bomb, the Army said.
Shanaberger, who was assigned to the U.S. Army's 21st Military Police Company, was stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C. He leaves behind his wife and five children.
The soldier's mother, Cheryl Shanaberger, said that her son's primary duties with the Army had always been as a military policeman, but that he also had completed training with the 82nd Airborne and the elite Ranger program.
He was raised in the Tampa area and joined the Army as soon as he graduated from Zephyrhills High School, said his mother, who lives in Port St. Lucie.
Shanaberger did tours in Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War, and in Bosnia, South Korea and Panama in his 14 years in the Army.
A memorial service will be Tuesday at Fort Bragg. The funeral will be Thursday in Pasco County.
