Kansas City, Mo. ? An improvised explosive device that detonated near a military convoy in Iraq last weekend killed National Guardsmen from Kansas and Missouri, military officials said Wednesday.

Spc. John Edward Wood, a member of the 891st Engineer Battalion of the Kansas National Guard, was killed on Oct. 7 while clearing explosive devices from along Iraqi roadways, the Kansas Adjutant General’s Department said. Also killed in the explosion was Sgt. Lawrence Lee Roy Parrish, a member of the 110th Engineer Battalion of the Missouri National Guard.

Wood, 37, of Humboldt, Kan., enlisted in October 1988 and was deployed in September 2004 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He extended his deployment in December and was attached to the 110th Engineer Battalion of the Missouri National Guard.

He is survived by his wife, Lannette, and four children.

Parrish, 36, of Lebanon, Mo., had previously served in Bosnia in 1999; in Qatar, and in Kuwait from December 2001 to January 2002; and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from July 2003 through January 2004. He re-enlisted in February.

He is survived by his wife, Sarah, and five children.

Both Guardsmen were posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Combat Action Badge. Parrish was also awarded the Missouri Expeditionary Medal.

As of Wednesday, at least 2,756 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.