Paul E. Andersen
Specialist, United States Army
February 25, 1960 – October 1, 2009
Age – 49
Dowagiac, MI
Operation Iraqi Freedom
855th Quartermaster Corps, South Bend, IN
Killed in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his camp using indirect fire.
Born and raised in West Michigan, Andersen graduated from Buchanan High School in 1979.
Paul was a member of Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church. He joined the U.S. Army Reserve on Aug. 1, 1985. Specialist Andersen had a deep sense of duty to his family and his country. His love and courage will forever live in their hearts.
Paul Anderson was a fun and quirky family man original ideas and childlike exuberance. His wife recalled the time he rode a lawnmower several miles down the road to deliver it to his stepdaughter after it wouldn’t fit in his car. Whenever a police car drove by, Andersen pretended to be just a regular neighbor out mowing the grass. It was so funny, the look on his face,” said his wife, Linda Andersen. “He was pleased and proud as can be, especially because he got away with it.
His family members recalled his passion for tinkering with machines and “going overboard” with Christmas lights every year.