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Marine from northern Minnesota killed in Iraq
April 7, 2004

Moose Lake, Minn. — (AP) Flags flew at half-staff at Moose Lake High School on Wednesday for the second Marine from the school to die in Iraq in less than a month, and the second from the state to fall in as many days.

Moises Langhorst, 19, was killed in action on Monday somewhere in the Fallujah-Ramadi area, said the family's pastor, the Rev. Larry Ladosser of St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Church. He did not know further details, but the area is a Sunni Muslim stronghold where heavy fighting has killed at least 15 Marines since Monday.

Langhorst was the son of George and Judy Langhorst, of Moose Lake. George Langhorst declined to be interviewed by The Associated Press on Wednesday.

"We're not talking to the media at this time," he said. "We'd like three or four more days to grieve."

Moises Langhorst graduated in 2003 from Moose Lake High School, where he was active in sports, theater and music, and was a star on Moose Lake's Knowledge Bowl team.

MINNESOTANS KILLED IN IRAQ 1. Pfc. Edward J. Herrgott, 20, Army, Shakopee, died July 3, 2003, when a sniper shot him in the neck outside the national museum in Baghdad. 2. Sgt. Brian R. Hellermann, 35, Army, formerly of Freeport, killed Aug. 6, 2003, in an ambush in Baghdad. 3. Staff Sgt. Dale A. Panchot, 26, Army, Northhome, killed Nov. 17, 2003, in an ambush on his patrol near Balad. 4. Chief Warrant Officer Patrick Dorff, 32, Minneapolis, Army, died Jan. 25, 2004 when his helicopter crashed in the Tigris River while on a rescue mission. 5. Cpl. Tyler R. Fey, 22, Marines, Eden Prairie, killed in fighting April 4, 2004, in Al Anbar Province. 6. Moises Langhorst, 19, Marines, Moose Lake. His rank and details of his death were unavailable, but he was believed to have been killed Monday in fighting near Fallujah, Iraq.

"He was a talented young man, that's for sure," Moose Lake school Superintendent Ted Caroline said. Langhorst and one teammate went to the state Knowledge Bowl six years in a row, competing against high schoolers even when they were in junior high, the superintendent recalled.

"The team was just phenomenal and he was a big reason," Caroline said. "He was just a warehouse-full of knowledge."

Last month, the body of Langhorst's classmate, Pfc. Matthew G. Milczark, 18, of Kettle River, was found at a chapel in Kuwait. He died in a non-combat shooting, authorities have said.

"They were good buddies and had planned to go into the military together, and hoped to serve together in the same unit, even," Caroline said.

Caroline said Langhorst's death was hard on the students and staff, coming as it did so soon after Milczark's, so they brought in substitute teachers.

"We kind of knew just from Matt's death a month ago that it took a big toll on our teaching staff," he said. "Especially the ones who have children who are about to enter the military."

Counselors from other schools and local churches were brought in for the students.

"They were well-known kids," he said of Langhorst and Milczark. "They were very visible and well liked, so it is hitting the kids hard here today. ... One is enough. To have another former student get killed - kids have a lot of questions. There's no easy answers to give them."

Flags were flying at half-staff across the town of about 2,230 people, about 40 miles southwest of Duluth in northeastern Minnesota.

Ladosser said the Langhorst family was doing well under the circumstances.

"They're pretty solid Christian people," he said. "They realize their son is with their Lord and savior. He was doing what he wanted to do."

Funeral arrangements were pending as the family waited to hear when his body would be returned from Iraq, the pastor said.

The Defense Department did not immediately confirm Langhorst's death.

News of Langhorst's death came the day after the Defense Department announced that Marine Cpl. Tyler R. Fey, 22, of Eden Prairie, had been killed Sunday in Anbar province of Iraq.

Fey was assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Langhorst, whose rank was not immediately available, was a member of the 1st Marine Division, 4th Marine Regiment, Second Battalion G Company based at Camp Pendleton.

Including Langhorst and Fey, six Minnesota troops have now been killed in combat in Iraq.

Langhorst and Fey were honored at the Legislature on Wednesday.

"Our thoughts, our prayers in the Minnesota Senate and the people of Minnesota, are with these families at a very difficult time in their life," Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson, DFL-Willmar, said in a floor speech. "We want the families to know that we support them, the members of the Senate."

Johnson, a Lutheran minister, is a chaplain and brigadier general in the Minnesota National Guard.

He asked that the Senate stand for a moment of silence "to recognize these two heroes from Minnesota who lost their lives while serving our country."

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