Two Schweinfurt, Germany–based soldiers were killed Sunday in Ta’meem, Iraq, a district of Ramadi, the Defense Department announced Tuesday.
Sgt. 1st Class Raymond R. Buchan, 33, of Johnstown, Pa., was a member of the 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. Staff Sgt. Michael L. Ruoff Jr., 31, of Yosemite, Calif., was a member of the 1st Battalion, 77th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division.
Both men were killed by enemy small-arms fire.
Buchan was a standout football and basketball player in high school, his brother Philip Buchan told The Tribune-Democrat newspaper in Johnstown, Pa. He joined the Army in 1991 after graduating from high school.
Buchan had been stationed in Schweinfurt for the past seven years and had deployed twice to Iraq with the 2nd Brigade, according to the paper.
“He loved his work,” Philip Buchan told The Tribune-Democrat. “He wanted to be there for his troops. That’s what he truly loved.”
He said his fallen brother exemplified humility and had a genuine concern for the safety of everyone under his command, according to the newspaper.
“His troops are really taken by his loss,” Philip Buchan said.
Buchan also is survived by his wife Laura; two sons, Hayden, 8, and Andrew, 1; and parents Richard and Carol Jean Buchan.
Ruoff, who joined the Army at the age of 18, was five days away from his 13th anniversary in the service, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Ruoff’s family lives in Colorado, but little other biographical information was available as of Thursday.
At least 50 soldiers assigned to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division have died in Iraq since the unit deployed to the country in late summer 2006.
Information regarding a memorial ceremony for Buchan and Ruoff was not available Thursday.
