I’ve posted about soldiers who have died in Iraq now and then since starting this blog. After the response last week on the post about 1st Lt. Shaun Blue, I’ve decided to do a weekly post. I yearn for a week where no U.S. soldiers die, but until that happens, I’ll keep this up. No politics. No matter your politics, we all agree these men and women are heroes.

This week I’m posting about Staff Sgt. Marlon B. Harper. A 34 year old father of 3. Again, I ask that anyone who knew Staff Sgt. Marlon B. Harper to post comments. Give us a glimpse of this fallen hero. My deepest sympathies and warm thoughts go to his family and friends.

R.I.P Staff Sgt. Marlon B. Harper.

Three young children lost a father.

A wife lost a husband.

And the United States has lost another hero.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Marlon B. Harper, 34, was killed Saturday in Baghdad, Iraq.

Staff Sgt. Harper, whose young children and wife moved to Pensacola while he fought in Iraq, was killed during a patrol after engaging combatants who were using small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades.

Staff Sgt. Harper of Baltimore was on his third tour of Iraq.

“He was a soldier who loved his job,” said his wife, Stacy Harper, 33. “He didn’t like to be away from his family, but he was a patriotic person. He definitely loved his soldiers.”

Besides his wife, Harper leaves behind three children — twin 10-year-old daughters, Jennifer and Jessica, and a 12-year-old son, Dominic.

He also leaves behind a grateful nation.

At Blue Angels Elementary School, where the Harpers’ daughters are in the fourth grade, students are learning lessons in sacrifice. Dominic is a sixth-grade student at Jim Bailey Middle School.

“We’ve been talking about what a hero he was,” said Karen Montgomery, Blue Angels Elementary assistant principal. “We’re talking to the students about how brave he was to defend our freedom so they can come to school every day.”

All three of the children are still attending school this week.

“They’re soldiers like their dad,” Stacy Harper said. “They wanted to go and be with their friends. And I didn’t want them to be alone. I want their routine to be as normal as possible.”

Both schools are providing counseling for the children, she said.

Staff Sgt. Harper was serving with the 1st Calvary Division out of Fort Hood, Texas.

He joined the military in January 1993 as an armor crew member.

Read more about Harper here