Jeremy W. Mulhair dies of injuries from I.E.D.

OMAHA, NE - An Army career soldier who grew up near Omaha has been killed in Iraq, his family says.

Staff Sgt. Jeremy W. Mulhair, 35, died Thursday when an explosion hit his vehicle near Taji, said his sister, Dixie Heisner of Omaha.

Another sister, Tammy Lines of Omaha, said Saturday that Jeremy had been born in Michigan but as young children they had moved to the northwest side of Omaha.

When he was a boy growing up he loved to play soldier, his sisters said.

"He'd get those little plastic, green Army men and go out in a field ... and set 'em all up and have them placed and knock them down," Lines said.

"All he ever wanted to do since he was a kid was serve his country," Heisner said.

He had been overseas since October on his second tour of Iraq duty. Lines said Jeremy was a vehicle commander assigned to Apache Troop, 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment.

Mulhair's wife, Suzie, called his family Thursday night after she learned of his death.

"Two military officers had shown up at her front door," Lines said of Suzie, who lives with her three children -- ages 9, 8 and 9 months -- on base at Fort Hood, Texas.

"He was so devoted to his family," Heisner said, "and I know they'd talked about having another child when he returned from Iraq."

Mulhair attended elementary and junior high school in Omaha, said his mother, Mildred Mulhair, a resident of Kimballton, Iowa.

He had continued on to Central High School but quit and later earned an equivalency degree, Lines said.

His love for the military stemmed from patriotism and respect for his father, Jerry, who had served in Vietnam and was disabled by a grenade blast, Lines said.

"I think our dad was the biggest influence on him. He looked up to my dad a lot," Heisner said.

Said his sister Lines: "He was a very, very loving person. He did everything with his heart, and he was very, very proud of what he did."

Other survivors include a brother in Mead, Neb., Robert Mulhair.

From the Gazette