Spc. Ken Leisten

Portland, Ore. ? Services for Spc. Ken Leisten, 20, Cornelius, are pending. Burial will be in Willamette National Cemetery in Portland.

Mr. Leisten died Wednesday, July 28, 2004, when a roadside bomb exploded near a Humvee he was driving in Taji, Iraq.

He was born July 5, 1984, in Santa Rosa, Calif., the son of Ken W. Leisten and Lisa K. LeBlanc-Willis.

Mr. Leisten was a member of the Oregon Army National Guard. He attended Forest Grove High School in Oregon before earning his General Educational Development degree so he could join the Army at 17. He was assigned to the Oregon Guard’s 1st Battalion, 162nd Infantry, but voluntarily switched units to the 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry to ensure a tour in Iraq.

Survivors include his father, Cornelius; his mother, Lawrence, Kan.; and a grandmother, Trudi Griffin, Hemet, Calif.

The family suggests memorials to a fund to be named later. For more information, contact Ms. LeBlanc-Willis at lisaleblanc626@msn.com.