Kathy Cleary of Superior, Wis., looks at the Douglas County Veterans Memorial at the Douglas County Courthouse in Superior. Another name will be added to the list. Marine Lance Cpl. Adam VanAlstine, 21, of Superior, was killed by a roadside bomb Saturday Feb. 26, 2006, in Iraq. (AP Photo/Daily Telegram, Jed Carlson)

Wisconsin Soldier, 21, Dies in Iraq 

Fifty-two Wisconsin soldiers have died in the Iraq war.

The most recent was Adam VanAlstine. The 21-year-old Marine was from Superior in far northwest Wisconsin.

Van Alstine left for Iraq in September. He would have come home in April, but died in February. A roadside bomb killed him. 

He always wanted to be a Marine

Family members said Van Alstine dreamed of being a Marine.

“He wanted this since he was a little boy,” his sister, Jennifer VanAlstine, said. “He lived and breathed to be in the Marines.”

VanAlstine wrote a card to another sister when he heard she was pregnant.

It said, “I don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet, but he or she is the reason why I do what I do without thinking twice about it — so he or she can enjoy the greatest country in the world.”

VanAlstine was a 2003 Superior High School graduate. The principal there said he was well liked.

“He was a kid who had to face some challenges, and he did that,” Kent Bergum said. “He displayed a lot of character and discipline.”

Over 2,500 Americans killed; 16,000 wounded

The Iraq war started in March of 2003. More than 2,500 soldiers have died since then. Almost all of them (more than 2,300) were Americans.

More than 16,000 U.S. soldiers have been wounded.

Violence has increased in Iraq after the bombing of a Shiite mosque February 22. More than 500 people have died since then. Many believe that the violence will lead to a civil war in Iraq. A civil war occurs when differing groups in the same nation declare war against each other.

Sources: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, The Associated Press, CNN.com