A western Iowa man serving with the Army in Afghanistan died over the weekend from injuries he suffered in an roadside bombing. Twenty-six-year-old U.S. Army Specialist Shawn Muhr of Coon Rapids was killed Saturday.
Muhr’s father, David Muhr, who himself was wounded by a land mine in Vietnam, said his son was a passenger in a military truck that hit an Improvised Explosive Device. Muhr, the youngest of five children, was a 2003 graduate of Coon Rapids-Bayard High School. He joined the Army six years ago.
His fellow soldiers called him “Ox,” because of how hard he worked and his ability to lift heavy equipment. His older brother Aaron also served in the Army, along with his father. Muhr’s family says he had returned home on leave just after Christmas and returned to Afghanistan on January 12th.
Funeral arrangements for Specialist Shawn Muhr are pending. His family said his body arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware late Monday night, though it was still unclear when Army officials would release his remains for burial. The Department of Defense has not confirmed Muhr’s death.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan said two NATO soldiers died January 29th after an attack with an improvised explosive device in the southern part of the country, but didn’t provide other details.
By Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic