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Soldier dies from injuries 3 weeks after blast in Iraq

Alwyn Cashe was badly burned while trying to save others trapped inside a patrol vehicle.

OVIEDO - Alwyn "Al" Cashe told his family that he would never leave one of his soldiers behind in combat.

"I told him, "Don't go over there playing a hero. You learn how to duck and come home,"' his sister, Kasinal Cashe White of Lake Butler told the Orlando Sentinel on Saturday. "He said, "I'm doing the job I was trained to do. I have to take care of my boys."'

Cashe wasn't initially hurt when a roadside bomb exploded Oct. 17 next to his Bradley Fighting Vehicle while on patrol in Samara, Iraq, family members said.

But his family says he suffered second- and third-degree burns over 70 percent of his body when he ran back into the vehicle in an attempt to rescue others.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Alwyn Cashe, 35, died Tuesday at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, according to the Department of Defense. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, based in Fort Benning, Ga.

Three other soldiers - Staff Sgt. George Alexander Jr., 34, of Killeen, Texas; Sgt. Michael Robertson, 28, of Houston; and Spc. Darren Howe, 21, of Beatrice, Neb. - also died at the Texas hospital from burns suffered in the explosion, according to the Department of Defense.

Cashe joined the Army after graduating from Oviedo High in 1988. He had already served one tour in Iraq since the conflict began in 2003, and also fought in the first Gulf War.

He had planned to retire when he reached his 20th year of military service, but changed his mind while in the Texas hospital. He wanted to stay in the Army once he healed, White said.

"If he said he would do it, you could count on him to do it," another sister, Yvonne Holmes, told the newspaper.

Cashe is survived by his wife and 12-year-old daughter.

[Last modified November 14, 2005, 01:03:13]