A service was held in eastern Iowa yesterday to honor the Iowa native who became the 12th Iowa soldier to die while on duty in Iraq. Thirty-seven-year-old Trace Dawson of Wapello was killed in a mortar attack in Iraq on May 2nd. About 500 people gathered in the Wapello High School gymnasium for his funeral. His wife says her husband was proud to be a soldier and died as a hero. His sister praised his brother as an honest man who could always put a smile on her face. The Reverend Mary Pugh remembered Dawson as a true gentleman and friend to everyone he met. One of Dawson’s friends who spoke at the funeral says the Navy man would have been proud to see all the flags flying in Wapello.
