08/28/2006

Associated Press

Two 21-year-old soldiers from Wisconsin were killed by roadside bombs in Iraq, their families said Monday.

Army Pfc. Shaun Novak, of Two Rivers, was killed Sunday in an explosion while he was riding in an armored vehicle, his aunt Sheila Halverson said.

Cpl. Kenneth Cross, of Superior, was also killed by a roadside bomb Sunday in Iraq, according to Gerald Nelson, a cousin.

Cross was recently married and was living in Steilacoom, Wash., with his wife. He had served one year in the U.S. Army and was stationed in Baghdad. It was not known what unit he was serving in or where he was based in the U.S. His parents, Michael and Elizabeth Cross, live in Superior.

Halverson did not know what unit Novak was serving in, but said it was out of Fort Hood, Texas, and he had been in the infantry.

Novak is survived by his father, Randy, a Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department deputy; his mother, Brenda, an employee of the Manitowoc County Human Services Department; and a brother, Danny, 15, who enters Two Rivers High School this fall, Halverson said.

He enlisted in the Army in 2004 and was shipped to Iraq in December of 2005, his aunt said.

"Shaun felt like he should serve his country. We're all very proud of him," said Halverson, adding that his grandfather had also served in the military.

He attended the University of Wisconsin-Manitowoc County Center for a year after graduating from Two Rivers High School. He had planned to study accounting or marketing after his discharge, his aunt said.

Novak enjoyed working on cars outside of school, said high school principal Ridgley Schott.

"He was all excited about driving a Hummer" in the military, added Ellen Johnson, the high school's attendance secretary whose son Kurt was a Novak's friend.

Schott said Novak had done particularly well in business education at Two Rivers High School.

"He was a quiet, solid student," the principal said.

"If he was a soldier like he was a student, he did it well."

Johnson said Novak had last visited home in April.

"He was glad to be there and do what he had to do" in Iraq, she said. "But he was looking forward to coming home."

Novak had expected to return from Iraq for good at Thanksgiving, Halverson said, but was supposed to serve another year in the Army at Fort Hood.

John Monka's son Brandon had been a Novak's friend and followed him into the military and was sent with another unit to Iraq. Monka said the two had hoped to serve together in the Army but he was glad his son was not with Novak when he died.

He said he felt sorry for the Novak family. The death has heightened his concern for his own son, Monka said.

"I'm having a hard time with it," he said.

Novak and Cross become the 59th and 60th Wisconsin residents to die as a result of service in Iraq.