Two Kansas soldiers killed in service

A Leavenworth soldier was killed Friday in Afghanistan, according to Associated Press reports, making the weekend a sobering one for more than one Kansas military family.

The news agency reported that Spc. William J. Mulvihill, 20, a member of the Special Troops Battalion, died when a roadside bomb exploded near his unit’s vehicle in Chowkay. Three other soldiers from the 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, based at Fort Hood, Texas, also were killed in the attack.

News of Mulvihill’s death followed word that 18-year-old Spc. Ronald “Ronnie” Andrew Schmidt, Newton, had died this weekend from injuries suffered in Iraq.

Schmidt joined the Kansas Army National Guard during his junior year at Newton High School.

He was young, only 17 at the time. But those who knew him thought it was a good move.

“We all knew the risks involved,” Roger Erickson, assistant principal of Newton High School, said. “This was a street-smart kid. He knew what he was getting into.”

Schmidt died Saturday when the vehicle he was in overturned while on patrol in Iraq.

By Monday morning Erickson heard the tragic news as it circulated through the community.

Erickson had been hearing good things about Schmidt, how he was enjoying the new responsibility serving as a member of Battery C, 1st Battalion, 161st Field Artillery. He had been trained as a cannon crewman and had been promoted to private first class and then to specialist.

“A wiry kid, he was all muscle,” Erickson said. “He was really independent, very strong-willed, and used it to his advantage.”

A weight lifter and wrestler, Schmidt also worked full-time at McDonald’s while going to school.

His manager, and friend, at the fast-food restaurant, Adrian Gonzalez, recalled him as a “hard worker.”

“He never gave up on stuff like his wrestling,” Gonzalez said. “He was pretty athletic.”

His mother, Andrea Maria Schmidt, of Newton, and his uncle Paul Schmidt, of Goddard, survive him. His father died when he was a young boy, Erickson said.

“Ronnie developed strong relationships with three staff members, and that was very helpful to him. He had people who really cared about him.”

While Schmidt made friends easily, Erickson said foremost he would remember the young man as a student who worked hard and was determined to support himself financially and be independent.

Joining the Kansas National Guard was a means to that end, Gonzalez said.

Schmidt is the first graduate from Newton High School to die in Iraq. Another student was injured, but has recovered.

“To lose a student at any time is very sad,” Erickson said. But Schmidt was someone he had spent time with. He knew his dream of someday going to Hutchinson Community College and becoming a firefighter.

“He was strong, resilient, and could get the job done,” Erickson said. “He would have done some good things for people.”