Army Cpl. Jeremiah S. Cole

Died August 16, 2006 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom

26, of Hiawatha, Kan.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.; died Aug. 16 of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations in Bermel, Afghanistan.

Kansas corporal killed in Afghanistan

The Associated Press

TOPEKA, Kan. — An Army corporal from Hiawatha became the sixth Kansan to die in Afghanistan.

Jeremiah S. Cole, 26, died Aug. 16 in Bermel from injuries he received when an improvised explosive device exploded near his vehicle during combat, the Defense Department said Thursday.

“My thoughts and prayers go out to Jeremiah’s family, friends, and fellow soldiers,” Gov. Kathleen Sebelius said. “He has made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom, and he will not be forgotten.”

Cole was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

Twenty-nine Kansans have died in Iraq since the war began there. Also, 67 soldiers from Fort Riley have died, most of them in Iraq.