Fort Hood Victims from Wisconsin

There has been so much media coverage of the Fort Hood shootings, and there's so much more to come.

It's a huge national story. But for the loved ones of the victims, it's not a story on the news that they can turn on and off.

It's a very painful and personal loss that they'll carry with them the rest of their lives.

My prayers are with them.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A woman from Kiel and a man from Mount Pleasant were two of the 13 people killed Thursday in the shootings at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas, and three others from Wisconsin were injured.

The Veterans Administration hospital in Madison confirmed Friday afternoon that Dorie Carskadon, a social worker and the team leader from the Madison Vet Center, was hurt in the shootings. Officials confirmed earlier Friday that two other soldiers from Wisconsin - Amy Krueger of Kiel and Russell Seager of Mount Pleasant - were killed. Also, Amber Bahr of Random Lake and Grant Moxon of Lodi were injured.

Kiel High School Principal Dario Talerico said that Krueger, who graduated from the school in 1998, died in the shootings.

Talerico described Krueger as a typical small-town girl who played basketball and softball at the school and was prompted to join the military after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Krueger had a sister and a brother who attended the high school and a large extended family in Kiel.

Talerico said few staffers remain at the 500-student school who worked there when Krueger was a student, but Krueger was considered a hero who appeared in the local newspaper, talking about her military experiences.

"I know she was proud to serve and proud to share her experience," Talerico said. "She took pride that she was able to serve her country."

...Seager's uncle confirmed his death.

Larry Seager described his 51-year-old nephew as a "quiet helper" who joined the military a few years ago.

Seager was licensed as a registered nurse and advanced practice nurse prescriber and worked at Zablocki VA Medical Center as a primary caregiver and provided mental health services to patients.

A profile of Seager produced by WUWM-FM in August says he is a nurse from the VA Medical Center in Milwaukee and described his plans to deploy to Iraq.