Fort Wayne roots for Iraq casualty

Spe 4 Donald R. McCune was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana and attended high school there. McCune, 20, grew up in Chelsea, Michigan. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 161st Infantry Regiment, 81st Brigade Combat Team, Washington Army National Guard, Moses Lake, Washington.

Specialist McCune was conducting operations with his patrol August 4 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his patrol in Balad, Iraq. McCune died the next day at the Army hospital in Landstuhl, Germany.

McCune grew up in Chelsea, Michigan. He attended high school in Fort Wayne, Ind., while living with his father and at Huron High School when he lived in Ann Arbor with his mother.

“I’m proud of my son,” McCune’s mother said. “I believe he was there for a reason and I hope someday his death means something, that something’s been accomplished. He’s not just a statistic.”