DENVER - The military says a chaplain from Fort Carson who died in Afghanistan this week is the first Army clergyperson killed in action since the Vietnam War.
Capt. Dale Goetz of the 4th Infantry Division at Colorado's Fort Carson was among five soldiers killed by an improvised bomb on Monday. The other four soldiers who died were also from Fort Carson. The defense department identified them as Staff Sgt. Jesse Infante of Cypress, Texas, Staff Sgt. Kevin J. Kessler of Canton, Ohio, Staff Sgt. Matthew J. West of Conover, Wis., and Pfc. Chad D. Clements of Huntington, Ind.
A spokesman for the chief of chaplains says Goetz was the first Army chaplain killed in combat since October 1970.
It wasn't immediately clear whether any Air Force, Marine or Navy chaplains have been killed in action since then. Officials for those services didn't immediately return calls.
The 43-year-old Goetz listed his hometown as White, S.D., and served as a pastor at First Baptist Church there. He joined the Army in 2000 and previously deployed to Iraq in 2004.
All five soldiers had arrived in Afghanistan earlier this summer.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
Capt. Dale Goetz of the 4th Infantry Division at Colorado's Fort Carson was among five soldiers killed by an improvised bomb on Monday. The other four soldiers who died were also from Fort Carson. The defense department identified them as Staff Sgt. Jesse Infante of Cypress, Texas, Staff Sgt. Kevin J. Kessler of Canton, Ohio, Staff Sgt. Matthew J. West of Conover, Wis., and Pfc. Chad D. Clements of Huntington, Ind.
A spokesman for the chief of chaplains says Goetz was the first Army chaplain killed in combat since October 1970.
It wasn't immediately clear whether any Air Force, Marine or Navy chaplains have been killed in action since then. Officials for those services didn't immediately return calls.
The 43-year-old Goetz listed his hometown as White, S.D., and served as a pastor at First Baptist Church there. He joined the Army in 2000 and previously deployed to Iraq in 2004.
All five soldiers had arrived in Afghanistan earlier this summer.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
