U.S. soldier dies in Iraq just before wedding

VIRGINIA CITY — A decorated California soldier was killed in Iraq just weeks before he was scheduled to be sent home for his wedding, his father said.

Army Staff Sgt. Bryan Bolander, 26, of Bakersfield, Calif., died Tuesday after his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device in Baghdad.

He had planned to be back in the United States about a week before his June 6 wedding, said his father, Greg Bolander of Virginia City, about 20 miles southeast of Reno.

“His commander, his master sergeant, was to be the best man at his wedding,” Greg Bolander told the Reno Gazette-Journal. “Now, he will accompany his body home.”

Bryan Bolander was on his fourth tour of duty in Iraq when he died. He joined the Army in April 2000 and arrived at Fort Campbell in Kentucky in November 2002.

“I have a hard time understanding four tours,” Greg Bolander told the Nevada Appeal. “But he was a very dedicated Army person.”

Bryan Bolander’s stepmother, Brenda Bolander, and grandparents, Jack and Dorothy Bolander, also live in Virginia City.

He also is survived by his son, Tyler Bolander, 4, of St. Louis, and his mother and stepfather, Toni and Robert Kahrmann of Tennessee.

A funeral will be held in Iraq and burial will be in the Clarksville Veterans Cemetery in Tennessee.

Including Bolander, 12 soldiers from Fort Campbell died in April and 234 soldiers from the base on the Kentucky-Tennessee state line have been killed since the war started.

Bolander received numerous awards and medals, including the Army Commendation Medal with Valor, which is typically awarded to soldiers who perform heroically in combat.