HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania state trooper serving with the National Guard was killed in Iraq, Gov. Ed Rendell said Friday.
Staff Sgt. Daniel R. Lightner Jr., 28, of Hollidaysburg, was conducting combat operations with the Pennsylvania National Guard’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team in Ramadi when an improvised explosive device struck his vehicle Thursday, Rendell said.
“Daniel Lightner represented the true ideals of a citizen soldier,” Rendell said. “Staff Sergeant Lightner was a model soldier, and Trooper Lightner was a dedicated law enforcement officer. He stood out among his peers in both his military and civilian occupations.”
Lightner served three years in the Army before joining the National Guard in 1998. He joined the state police in November 2003. A member of the 28th Division Military Police Company in Johnstown, he was activated in January.
“He served the citizens of this state only briefly, but he has made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of his nation,” said state police Commissioner Col. Jeffrey Miller.
“Sergeant Lightner was a dedicated soldier who was recognized time and again for his leadership and athletic achievement,” said Maj. Gen. Jessica Wright, the state’s adjutant general, who is in charge of the Pennsylvania National Guard and the state’s programs for veterans. “He represented the best of our organization.”
The state’s death toll in Iraq is more than 100, according to an Associated Press tally. The total includes those identified by the Pentagon as being from Pennsylvania and those who grew up in Pennsylvania and spent much of their lives in the state but whose military careers later took them elsewhere. Lightner became the 20th guard member killed in Iraq.
More than 3,200 Pennsylvania guardsmen are deployed in Iraq, the highest per capita in the nation. Only California and Texas have suffered more casualties than Pennsylvania in the war in Iraq.
National Guard Sgt. Bruce Morrow, 37, of Pittsburgh, and Spec. Timothy Collins, of Central City, were also injured in the attack.
