A Life Cut Short, A Community Mourns

No doubt those following me on Twitter or read this post by fellow Kielite Brad Vogel about Amy Krueger, know she was one of the 13 soldiers killed in the Fort Hood shooting on Thursday.  Like Brad, I knew Amy in high school.  When I walked the halls of Kiel High as a Senior; she was a Junior.

Besides school, I also knew Amy from countless summers where she would play softball while I played baseball in School Hill.  We weren't ever close, but we shared many friends from the greater Kiel, Cedar Lake, and School Hill area growing up.

I spent much of yesterday after hearing the news and after the shock wore off thinking what word best described Amy.  "Tom-boy" was too general, but to sum her up, "spitfire" fits her to a "T."

There are few teachers from the late 90s still at Kiel High, since most have since retired and a new set of facility has since taken their places, but one of them -- Mrs. Faye Billmann, an English and German teacher (Yes, they still teach German at Kiel High) -- was quoted by the New York Times.

Sergeant Krueger, a 1998 graduate of Kiel High School in Kiel, Wis., “was a feisty young lady who wouldn’t back down from anything,” said Faye Billmann, an English teacher who is organizing the school’s annual Veterans Day ceremony. There will be a moment of silence on Wednesday, Ms. Billmann said, in Sergeant Krueger’s honor.

Dario Talerico, the school’s principal, said a family friend had reported her death on Friday morning. “I know she was very, very proud of being able to serve in the military,” Mr. Talerico said.

When I was at high school, they had just made Talerico Vice Principal.  Prior to that he was a science teacher and was the long-time football coach.

For now, Kiel will mourn her loss and try to understand why such a person would do what occurred on Fort Hood.  One understands that servicemen and women put their lives on the line when they go overseas to fight in wars; one never expects them to face harm on their own army bases from one who shares the uniform.

So please, take the time to read the local coverage from Kiel's own "Tri-County News" on this tragedy here.  I believe Brad already linked to the 2003 interview the weekly paper did with Krueger.

Rest in Peace Amy...