Funeral for Iowa soldier is Saturday

An Iowan who died in Iraq will be laid to rest tomorrow (Saturday) in his hometown of Dubuque. U.S. Army Private Michael Duetsch died July 31st when his armored personnel carrier was struck by an explosive round. Duetsch graduated in 2000 from Dubuque Senior High School. Senior Principal Larry Mitchel says the faculty have mixed emotions this week. He says they’re excited about preparing for the new school year, but they also have a heavy heart after loosing one of their students. Mitchel talks about memories of Duestch. He says he was a good student, intelligent, and he thinks his favorite class was math. He says he was a very quiet young man that was not involved in a lot of activity. Mitchel says he does know that Duetsch died doing what he wanted to do. He says they visit with all of the seniors during their final year in school and he says Duetsch said his goal was to graduate and join the army. Mitchel believes Duetsch death will have an impact on students as they return to school. He says high school students tend to think that events that happen in far off places are distant from them. But he says when someone who you went to school with, and who is close to your age dies, it makes and impact. He says the school will have counselors available to help any students who want to talk about Duetsch’s death. The funeral for Duestch is 9:30 tomorrow morning at the Regina Caeli Chapel. Burial is in the Mount Calvary Cemetery in Dubuque.