Army identifies soldier killed on highway in South Korea

The Army has identified an American soldier who died in a vehicle accident in South Korea.

Sgt. Eric Schenck, 33, was killed on Thursday after a truck hit him and another car that had pulled over to the side of a highway, Stars and Stripes reported. Schenck was driving a U.S. military vehicle when it was first rear-ended by another car on an interchange.

After he left the vehicle to inspect the damage, an 8-ton cargo truck slammed into him and the two parked vehicles.

The collision occurred on a highway northwest of Camp Humphreys, the newspaper reported. Camp Humphreys is located within the seaport city of Pyeongtaek, on South Korea’s western coast.

Schenck was returning to Suwon Air Base from a field training exercise, according to an Army news release.

The sergeant from Placerville, California, was a health-care noncommissioned officer for Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 6th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment. That unit is stationed at Osan Air Base, about 12 miles north of Camp Humphreys.

Schenck joined the Army in 2009, deployed to Afghanistan in 2012, and has been stationed in South Korea since January, the release said.

“When you serve overseas, units are like families, and the Dragon Brigade is no exception. We lost one of our brothers on December 7, and the pain is going to hurt. The loss of Sgt. Schenck will be felt throughout the entire formation and collectively we will mourn his loss,” Col. Richard Wright, the 35th ADA Brigade commander, said in the release. “We also extend our deepest condolences to all Sgt. Schenck’s friends and family back home. We will continue to keep those closest to him in our thoughts and prayers.”

Schenck’s awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Campaign Star.

Schenck is survived by his parents and his two sons.

The incident is under investigation.

In Other News

Lawmakers ask for DOD data on troops’ tuition assistance problems

A group of lawmakers wants to know why military officials stopped releasing information from their Postsecondary Education Complaint System.

With promotion still blocked, Air Force officer’s eligibility extended

Col. Ben Jonsson's promotion window was set to expire. The Pentagon just granted the him another year of eligibility.

The Marine officer who saved 8,000 lives at the ‘Frozen Chosin’

'To me, it didn’t matter whether those were Chinese, Korean, Mongolian, whatever — they were the enemy.'

Burn pits increased risk of asthma, heart problems, new DOD data shows

Researchers tracked nearly 460,000 veterans and found increased risk of several respiratory and heart issues among individuals who deployed near burn pits.

Supreme Court to hear another major veterans benefits case this fall

The high court will consider whether VA officials are properly reviewing benefits decisions that deny veterans medical help.

Load More