Location: 1216
Date: 11/16/2004
Rank: 1st Lieutenant
Branch: U.S. Army
Operation: Operation Iraqi Freedom
CPT Luke Wullenwaber, XO of Company A, 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry, was KIA on 11/16/2004, in Iraq, 4 weeks shy of turning 25. Luke had volunteered that day for a security mission to serve alongside “his” men. An explosion from a VBIED killed Luke.
Described by some men as the toughest guy they ever knew, Luke was intelligent, kind, of the highest integrity, capable of great intensity & exceedingly funny. He was devoted to his family & friends. He exuded strength. His high school coach said he epitomized what a man should be.
Luke was president of his high school’s National Honor Society Chapter. In 12th grade Luke was the varsity’s Defensive Lineman of the Year, & All North Idaho; & his home town’s local TV stations’ Prep Athlete of the Week.
Luke attended VMI. While there, Luke was the first undergraduate in VMI’s history to complete the Special Forces Underwater Combat Diver course at Key West; he represented VMI at the Thai Royal Military Academy; & the Army featured Luke’s photograph in a national ad. Luke graduated with academic honors & was a Distinguished Military Graduate. In Iraq, Luke was awarded the Purple Heart; the Bronze Star; & the Meritorious Service Medal.
Luke’s family is permanently rent by his absence, but because of the promise of the resurrection of God’s people through the Lord Jesus Christ they are not lost in despair.