PLYMOUTH, OH, USA U.S. Army PV2, TROOP B, 2D SQUADRON, 13TH CAVALRY, 4 BCT, FORT BLISS, TX FOB HUNTER/ MYSAN PROVINCE, IRAQ 08/04/2009
Keiffer Wilhelm loved karaoke. He sang everything from Johnny Cash to Men at Work, said his father, Shane. They once drove through a snowstorm just to get a new karaoke game the day it came out, his dad said.
From Plymouth, Ohio, Keiffer joined the Army in December, 2008, carrying on a family tradition of military service; his grandfather, father and three uncles all served. His older brother, Shannon, is a military police officer in the Air Force. With his high school friend Jerry Muniz, who also joined the Army, they talked about traveling the world together in the service and going to Japan and Germany. He was even looking forward to going to Iraq, said his mother, Kathe. He was excited about going places he’d never dreamed about, she said, seeing things like scorpions.
Keiffer graduated from Willard High School in 2008 and was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 13th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, stationed in Fort Bliss, Texas. Private Keiffer, 19, committed suicide in Maysan Province, Iraq on August. 4, 2009. The investigation into his death led to convictions for 3 soldiers who the military says ridiculed men in the platoon and punished them physically.