Tyler R. Kreinz

A LIFE REMEMBERED

We speak the name.

Army Spc. Tyler R. Kreinz died June 18 in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered during a vehicle rollover. Also killed were Army Sgt. 1st Class Alvin A. Boatwright, Army Sgt. Edward F. Dixon III and Army Sgt. Alan L. Snyder. Father&rsquos memories: &lsquoHe was a perfect gentleman&rsquo By Gretchen Ehlke The Associated Press MILWAUKEE &mdash An Army specialist from Beloit who was motivated to join the military by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks has been killed while serving in Afghanistan. David Kreinz said two military personnel visited his Beloit home on Father&rsquos Day (June 19) to tell him and his wife, Marilyn, that their 21-year-old son, Tyler, had been killed in action June 18. Kreinz said the family has yet to learn details about how his son died and that they planned to fly to Dover Air Force Base, Del., to receive his remains. The Defense Department said June 20 that Kreinz and three other soldiers died in Uruzgan province of injuries suffered in a vehicle rollover. They were assigned to the 4th Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment, 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, out of Baumholder, Germany. David Kreinz said his son was just a youngster when terrorists attacked on 9/11. &ldquoBeing a 12-year-old kid, that opened up his eyes so much,&rdquo Kreinz said. &ldquoThat&rsquos all he talked about, was being in the military. I tried to talk him out of it hundreds of times, but he&rsquos my son and I&rsquove got to help him achieve his dreams.&rdquo Kreinz said his son joined the Army shortly after graduating from Beloit Memorial High School in 2008. &ldquoHe excelled in school and in any sport he was in, whether it was football or kickboxing,&rdquo Kreinz said. &ldquoAnd he was a perfect gentleman.&rdquo Kreinz said his son loved hunting, fishing and the outdoors in general and had planned to attend the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point following his military service, and study conservation. &ldquoHe wanted to serve in the military first before he went to college. There wasn&rsquot anything I could do to talk him out of it, so I had to back him up on it,&rdquo he said. In a statement, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said Tyler Kreinz &ldquofought courageously for our nation and paid the ultimate price for our freedom.&rdquo Tyler Kreinz&rsquos tour in Afghanistan was due to end in February and he would have returned to Germany in April, his father said.