Services announced for three MN troops killed last week
Services for three Minnesota troops killed in the line of duty last week have been announced.
Spc. James Wertish, 20, of rural Olivia, Spc. Carlos Wilcox IV, 27, of Cottage Grove, and Spc. Daniel Drevnick, 22, of Woodbury were killed July 16 after insurgents attacked their unit near Basra in southern Iraq.
A "Hero's Welcome" is planned on Friday morning in Cottage Grove for Wilcox. Family and friends will line the streets as the funeral procession makes its way from the Kok Funeral Home to the Light The Way Church. The procession is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. Friday, and the wake will begin at 10 a.m., with a service to follow.
A wake for Drevnick will take place from 3 to 8 p.m. on Friday, at the Wulff Woodbury Funeral Home in Woodbury.
Drevnick's funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at King of Kings Lutheran Church in Woodbury.
Family, Patriot Guard motorcyclists and fellow soldiers are escorting Wertish's body back home to Olivia today. His funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Bird Island, with burial in the Olivia cemetery.
The soldiers were assigned to the Stillwater-based 34th Infantry "Red Bull" Unit. More than 1,000 members of the division are serving in Iraq. The unit is responsible for assisting the Iraqi Army, police and border security as they prepare to assume control of the country.
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