His Star Has Turned From Blue to Gold

Minnesota Guardsman from Walker killed in Afghanistan
By VINCE TUSS, Star Tribune


A Minnesota National Guardsman died Saturday in Afghanistan after he was wounded in an attack, the Pentagon said Monday.

Specialist George W. Cauley, 24, of Walker, died in Bagram, Afghanistan, according to a statement from the Defense Department. He was hurt Wednesday in Helmand Province when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.

Cauley was a member of the Guard's 114th Truck Company, based in Duluth. The company had 187 soldiers mobilized in June, said Maj. Patricia Baker, a public affairs officer for the Minnesota Guard. The one-year deployment included training in Indiana before leaving for Afghanistan, Baker said.

The mission was moving supplies by ground throughout Afghanistan and providing convoy security, according to a statement from the Guard in April, when the deployment was announced. The company uses a Palletized Load System, a kind of heavy truck, to move large amount of cargo, Baker said.

The investigation into Cauley's death continues in Afghanistan, Baker said.

It comes a week after the death of a Guardsman in Iraq from noncombat injuries. Maj. Tad Hervas, 48, of Coon Rapids, died in Basra. He was assigned to the 34th Infantry Division, based in Rosemount.

In July, three state Guard members were killed by rocket attack on their base near Basra, Iraq. Specialist Daniel Drevnick, 22, of Woodbury; Specialist James Wertish, 20, of rural Olivia, and Specialist Carlos Wilcox IV, 27, of Cottage Grove were members of the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division and assigned to the 34th Military Police Company, based in Stillwater.