As the men of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard’s 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team return from their deployment to Iraq, there is a somber lining to the homecoming joy. Two of 56th’s 4,000-some soldiers won’t reunite with their family and friends this month. They were killed in Iraq.
While neither of the soldiers were in the division’s Cambridge Springs-based 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry, that hasn’t diminished the emotional impact. “Those losses are felt across the brigade,” said Capt. Cory Angell, the 56th’s public affairs officer. “It is something we will never forget.”
Spc. Chad A. Edmundson
Spc. Chad A. Edmundson, 20, of Williamsburg was on a
dismounted foot patrol in Abu Ghraib with the Iraqi Army when an improvised explosive device detonated at
10:17 a.m. May 27. He later died at the 10th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad.
Three other soldiers were not seriously injured in the attack. Sixteen Iraqi civilians were hurt, three of them seriously.
Edmundson, an infantryman, was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 112th Infantry, in Altoona.
“Spc. Edmundson was a dynamic, young soldier who had enormous potential in the military or any other career field he would have chosen,” Maj. Gen. Jessica L. Wright, commander of the Pennsylvania National Guard, said at the time of his death. “This is a tremendous loss and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.”
Edmundson was a 2008 graduate of Williamsburg Community Senior High in Blair County. He joined the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in January 2007 and completed basic training at Fort Benning, Ga.
He is survived by his mother, Karen L. Cornell, Breezewood; father, Roy A. Edmundson, Williamsburg; sister, Jessica N. Miller also of Williamsburg; and fiancée, Jessica A. Welch, Altoona.
Edmundson was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Combat Infantry Badge.
Staff Sgt. Mark C. Baum
Staff Sgt. Mark C. Baum, 32, of Quakertown, a member of Detachment 1, Company B, 1-111th Infantry, Phoenixville, was severely wounded by small arms fire Feb. 21 after the quick reaction force he was assigned to responded to an Improvised Explosive Device attack around 5 a.m. He was airlifted to Baghdad and died around 10 a.m. No other soldiers were killed or injured during the incident.
“This is truly a sad day for both the family of Staff Sgt. Baum and members of the Pennsylvania National Guard,” Maj. Gen. Jessica L. Wright, commander of the Pennsylvania National Guard, said at the time of his death. “His bravery and dedication serve as a reminder of all of the sacrifices that are made each day to ensure that freedom and democracy prevail. There are no words for the loss we feel.”
Baum, a former active duty combat veteran, served tours in Iraq, Kosovo and the Sinai. He joined the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in 2005. As a civilian, he was a corrections officer at the Bucks County Correctional Facility.
He is survived by his wife, Heather; three young children; and his parents, Howard and Debra Baum, of Morgantown.
Baum was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and promoted to staff sergeant.
Pat Bywater can be reached at 724-6370 or by e-mail at pbywater@meadvilletribune.com.
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