Darren Michael Linde
Army SFC
From: Sidney, Richland County
Date of Death: 12/3/2012
Conflict: Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan
North Dakota National Guard soldier killed this week in Afghanistan is being remembered as a soldier and also as a mentor. Forty-one-year-old Sergeant First Class Darren Linde of Devils Lake was a full-time instructor at the Camp Grafton Training Center. Fellow instructor First Sergeant Kurt Schwind tells the Grand Forks Herald that Linde earned the nicknames “Grandpa” and “Papa Bear” and was proud of the terms of endearment.
Linde and 20-year-old Specialist Tyler Orgaard of Bismarck died Monday in a roadside bomb attack. They were serving with the 818th Engineer Company. Linde’s widow, Adrienne Linde, said in a recent statement that she and their four children, Celina, Kayla, Alexis and Eric, “are all devastated by the loss of such an incredible husband and father.”
“Though saddened and shocked, we are thankful to have wonderful memories and funny stories that will last a lifetime,” she said. “I have always been Darren’s number one cheerleader and I am enormously proud of him for his sacrifice and service to our nation. Darren gave his life so that others could pass through safely.”
