Andrew R. Weiss dies of injuries from I.E.D.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- A soldier from West Lafayette has been killed in Iraq.

Army Spc. Andrew R. Weiss, 28, died Thursday in Baghdad after an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle, military officials said. He was one of four soldiers in the vehicle.

Weiss was on his second tour of duty in Iraq, said his mother, Judith Weiss of West Lafayette.

"He thought that the cavalry was right for him. He was an excellent soldier, quite the hero," she said.

He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, based in Fort Hood, Texas.

Judith Weiss said she last saw her son in August. Andrew Weiss attended West Lafayette High School and Vincennes University and enlisted in the Army just before the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. He re-enlisted this year.

"He was a building-construction major and jobs weren't too hot," his mother said.

Weiss and his wife, Margaret, have two children, ages 3 and 1. The family lives near Fort Hood.

Fromt he Courier-Journal