Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com

Published - Wednesday, July 13, 2005

Soldier from Washington state dies at Fort McCoy

Lee Newspapers

FORT McCOY, Wis. — A Washington state soldier training at Fort McCoy was pronounced dead Monday morning after being found unconscious in a barracks.

The soldier was at Fort McCoy for annual training with the 396th Combat Support Hospital of Vancouver, Wash., Public Affairs Officer Linda Fournier said.

The soldier's name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. Fournier said the soldier's records were in Vancouver, and Fort McCoy officers were working with officials there to notify family.

The incident is under investigation, but Fournier said the death does not appear to be related to training activities.

This is the third soldier training at Fort McCoy to die in the past three years. In 2003, a female Army Reservist from Milwaukee died as a result of an undiagnosed medical condition that caused a deadly reaction to an anthrax vaccine. In August 2004, a member of the Minnesota National Guard unit died from a heart attack.

More than 130,000 soldiers train at the base each year. Fournier said the base's average daily population is 7,000.

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