Army Specialist Shawn A. Muhr, 26, of Coon Rapids, Iowa was assigned to the 264th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 82nd Sustainment Brigade, Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He died January 29, 2011, in Helmand province, Afghanistan, when an improvised explosive device detonated beneath the heavy equipment transport truck he was driving.

SPC Muhr was a 2003 graduate of Coon Rapids-Bayard High School, where he wrestled and played football. About a year later, he enlisted in the Army. He served in South Korea and Iraq before deploying to Afghanistan in October 2010. SPC Muhr was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal and was posthumously recognized as the 2011 USO Soldier of the Year. A bridge near his hometown has since been named in his honor.

His fellow soldiers called SPC Muhr “Ox,” because of how hard he worked and his ability to lift heavy equipment. He was remembered for his warmth, generosity and infectious enthusiasm for life. His father, David Muhr, said “he was about as ornery, happy, joking and dry-humored as they ever get.”

SPC Muhr was survived by his wife and stepson.