COUNTERING MILITARY RECRUITMENT
Articles: Military Service: Casualties
Soldier who got parents' OK to enlist at 17 killed in Iraq
ASSOCIATED PRESS
July 17, 2007
A teen who got his parents' permission to join the Army at 17 has
been killed in the blast of an improvised explosive device in Iraq.
Pfc. Christopher D. Kube, 18, of Shelby Township died Saturday in
Baghdad. He was one of two Michigan soldiers reported killed in Iraq last week.
Kube was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery
Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, based at
Ft. Carson, Colo., the Defense Department said.
"He volunteered for that mission," his mother, Debbie Krupski, said
Monday from the family's home. "My son wasn't even supposed to be there."
Kube was a gunner and the only soldier killed in the explosion,
Krupski told the Detroit News.
Kube's parents let him enlist in the Army at 17, and he shipped out
to Iraq in October, one month after turning 18.
"He enjoyed the military," his mother said. "He always met the challenge."
She said she last saw her son in February when he was on leave. While
home, he married his girlfriend, Tianna, whom he met in Colorado.
Krupski said Kube loved riding dirt bikes and deer-hunting with his father.
He was the oldest of five children. Other survivers include father
David Kube, brothers John and Jason, and sisters Jessica and Jennifer.
Funeral arraignments were incomplete, his mother said Monday.
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On Sunday, the Pentagon announced the death Friday of Army Sgt. Allen
A. Greka, 29, of Alpena, who was hit by a land mine while on patrol
in Jisr Diyala.
"It's very hard to deal with, but we've been getting a lot of support
from everyone in the area," his father, Steven Greka, told the Alpena News.
Allen Greka and his wife, Jennifer, were married about a year ago.
The couple had a 4-month-old daughter, Lilith. Greka also had a
4-year-old stepdaughter, Rose, his father said.
Steven Greka described his son as a very professional soldier who
loved what he did and enjoyed reading.
"Anything he read he retained," Steven Greka said. "He was very intelligent. "
Allen Greka also is survived by his mother, Patti Greka. Funeral
arrangements were pending Monday.
Greka was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd
Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division at Ft. Benning, Ga.
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