James M. Wosika dies of injuries from I.E.D.

Another Minnesota soldier has died in Iraq.

A 24-year-old Minnesota National Guard soldier was killed by a bomb while on foot patrol in Fallujah, Iraq, the Guard said Wednesday.

He is the 50th person with strong Minnesota ties to die in connection with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Wosika was the third member of his unit to die in Iraq in less than six weeks. A roadside bomb killed Spc. Bryan T. McDonough of Maplewood and Corey J. Rystad of Red Lake Falls on Dec. 2, and their friend, Sgt. John Kriesel, lost both of his legs.

"This has been a difficult month for the soldiers of Company B," Lt. Col. Kevin Gutknecht said. "Times like this, the well being of our soldiers and their families is paramount."

Further details about the incident weren't immediately available, Gutknecht said at a news conference at the Guard's headquarters near the Capitol.

Wosika was due home in March or April, Gutknecht said. He had deployed to Iraq last March with about 2,600 other Guard troops.

He was single. Wosika's family lives in St. Paul

His father James describes him as a dedicated young man with a "heart as big as the world."

"Something I can never replace, like a family heirloom that fell off the shelf and broke. Unreplaceable," says James Wosika.

Wosika graduated from Highland Park Senior High School in 2000, where he played football and was a member of the wrestling team. After he graduated, he would often come back to help coach other young wrestlers.

"He was just an honest, hard-working kid and he would have been a successful citizen," says athletic director John Heller.

Wosika had a profile on Myspace.com, where he wrote informally of personal details, such as his country music phase, and named his heroes as "Any man or women that has died for this country and all that may lose there life."

An entry dated Nov. 30 described his frustrations in Iraq.

It reads: "So as i was there with my team we saw 3 vehicles that are on are list for insurgent vehicles they were passing things back and forth from vehicle to vehicle. they were trying to be very quick about it and what did my higher do THEY DID NOTHING!!!!!!!"

Later, he wrote: "So I ask again what am i doing here if we will not act!!!!!!!!!"

Gutknecht said he couldn't comment on the Web postings. But he said the Guard soldiers in Iraq are well trained and confident about their mission and they have the equipment they need.

He also described Wosika as a hero.

"Anyone who dies for their nation has to be considered a hero I think by everyone, and now Sgt. Wosika is a hero as well," Gutknecht said.

Gutknecht said there are about 150 soldiers in Wosika's company. He said the unit has support from chaplains and mental health professionals and that the Guard aims to help the families of all soldiers who have deployed to Iraq.

"The loss of Sgt. Wosika is a tragedy," said Maj. Gen. Larry Shellito, the Minnesota Guard Adjutant General, in a prepared statement. "He was proudly serving his state and nation in a combat zone when he was taken from us."

"It is with a heavy heart that I once again ask the citizens of Minnesota to remember this soldier and his family in their prayers," Shellito said.

Wosika joined the Guard in 2000 and also served in Kosovo for six months in 2004 on a peacekeeping mission.

From KARE 11