Fort Drum officer dies after physical fitness training

A Public Affairs Officer assigned to the 10th Mountain Division’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company died after exercising at a Fort Belvoir, Virginia, gym July 6, 2005.

Major Douglas W. ‘Duke’ Duecker, 46, an Operations Officer with the 10th Mountain Division’s Public Affairs Office, was on temporary duty in Virginia while attending professional development training.

A native of Liverpool, New York, Duecker enlisted in the Army in October 1989 and trained to be infantryman.

He was assigned to Fort Drum in February 2005 following an assignment with the Combined Forces, Land Component Command in Kuwait from May 2003 to January 2005 supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.  He deployed into Iraq with the 1st Armor Division in 2004 to support combat operations.

Duecker’s other previous assignments include operations officer for the 24th Infantry Division at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, from January 2001 to May 2003, Company Commander in 2nd Battalion, 54th Infantry Regiment, Infantry Training Brigade, Fort Benning, Georgia, from June 1999 to April 2000, as well as other staff positions from 1997 to 1999 with 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, Fort Benning, Georgia,

From 1993 to 1994, he served with the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment and 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, Colorado, and was assigned to the 21st Infantry Regiment at Fort Ord, California, from 1992 to 1993.

    His training and education includes the Public Affairs Officer Course, Field Artillery Officer Advance Course, Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle Commander’s Course, Ranger School, Infantry Mortar Platoon Officer Course, Infantry Officer Basic Course, Officer Candidate School and the Basic Airborne Course.

Duecker's awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Parachutist badge and the Ranger tab.

He received a bachelor’s of arts degree in psychology from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in 1996.

He is survived by his mother Ida Duecker, of Salem, South Carolina, and his sisters Leslie Keller, of Baldwinsville, New York, and Lenelle Duecker, of Burbank, California.

Major Duecker will be laid to rest with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery on 22 September 2005.

Fort Drum Military Personnel

We cannot begin to express to you what the military has meant to Major Duecker. Doug believed so deeply in what he was doing and the comrades he was doing it with. The United States Army had done so much for him and gave
him such a heart felt meaning for life. Doug was so proud of his recent tours overseas and the people with whom he had served. You may have known him as Major Duecker, Sir, officer Duecker or maybe just Doug. We knew him as,
son, brother, uncle, Doug or “Duke”. We hope that no matter how you knew him, you knew him for the great person that he was.

The compassion he had for the service, his country, his brothers in arms, his duty, his family, his friends, his car, his enjoyment for life, all reflect Doug’s compassion for life.

Although our hearts ache, and our tears fall for the passing of someone so dear to us, we are consoled in knowing the we and the world are truly better off for the time Doug was with us. He has gone ahead to join with those that have
passed before him. The loved ones he had longed to see. It meant so much to the family for Major Lee, Chaplin Reynolds, and Major Garrido, to spend some time with us. Not all of life’s difficult tasks are handled on the battlefield. These men are to be commended for the very unenviable task they have to perform.

Sincerely,
Family of Major Douglas Winston Duecker