2nd Lt. Tracy Lynn Alger

United States Army
KIA 01 November 2007, Iraq
Tributes

Memorial Page Established by-Tanya Leo

Tracy Lynn Alger was born June 21, 1977 to Pauline
Symbal of Stanley, Wisconsin.  She was a 1995 graduate of Chetek High
School and continued to further her education at UW-River Falls, graduating
with a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business and marketing.  She
worked as a graphic designer and certified nursing assistant before
enlisting in the United States Army in January 2006.  

Tracy was a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army and assigned to the 3rd
Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st
Airborne Division (Air Assault), also known as the Rakkasans, based at Fort
Campbell, KY.  She graduated from The United States Army Air Assault
School in 2007 prior to her departure to Iraq.  Originally stationed in
Fort Story, VA, Tracy requested to be transferred to the 101st Airborne
Division where she served as a distribution platoon leader for her
battalion.  Tracy was killed in action on Thursday, 01 Nov 07, in
Shubayshen, Iraq of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device (IED)
detonated near her vehicle.  

Tracy's awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Purple
Heart, Iraqi Campaign Medal, Overseas Service Medal, National Defense
Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service ribbon,
and Weapons Qualification, M4, Expert.

March 23, 2008
Shannon Mattner (Brown)
There are so many wonderful memeories that I have from
growing up with Tracy. Family Weddings, and running around Uncle Teddy
and Aunt Bernice's farm. Those are memories that I will hold on to
forever. I'm so very proud of my cousin Tracy. You are greatly missed.

Jan 25, 2008
SFC Rod Brewer
Christmas in Arlington... Rest easy, sleep well my
brothers and sisters. Know the line has held, you job is done. Rest easy,
sleep well. Others have taken up where you fell, the line has held.
Peace, peace, and farewell. From Arlington National Cemetery. Tracy, You
Will Not Be Forgotten... Rod.

Jan 22, 2008
1LT Jeremy Haynes
LT Alger and I attended Air Assault School together
shortly before our deployment. I can recall slowing down on Mile 8 of the
12 mile road march at Air Assault School and hearing Tracy saying,
"Keep it moving Rakkasan." She was extremely physically fit and was full of
motivation. Tracy & I joked with one another occasionally as well as
offered each other advice. We spoke briefly before deployment and we
told one another to be safe. I am deeply saddened for her lost & my
sympathy and prayers goes out to her family, friends, and Soldiers. Tracy was
a great Soldier and an outstanding person.
LT Jeremy Haynes

Jan 7, 2008
Lynn Craig, Whiskey Blue Farms

For those that knew Tracy, how lucky we are.  I bought
Gettum from her a few years ago and every month or so she would send me
emails of jokes, causes and just nice little notes about her progress
in the military.  She never complained and always was more worried
about me and those wonderful horses.  I'm riding this year with Gettum for
Tracy taught me another lesson.  Hold on to your dreams and do what you
feel you must.  We will never forget her.  And Tracey's mom, thank you
for bringing up such a wonderful person, I will think of you often and
hope you will find peace.  


Nov 24, 2007
Zac Johnson
Tracy I didn't know you all that well, but from what I
did you were a extraordinary person. I have to say I am very proud of
you and thank you for serving our country. I know you are gone, but it
is great to know that an angle like you is watching over all of us and
would do whatever you needed to help out and be there for any of us. You
will be greatly missed! Love, Zac

Tanya Leo
Tracy was not only a dedicated soldier but the best
sister that anyone could ask for.  Words cannot describe the respect and
love I have for my sister.  Although she has been called home, she will
live on in the hearts of those she touched here on earth.  I anxiously
look forward to the day that I can see her once again.  I love you
Tracetta!  


Nov 23, 2007
Steve and Lil
Tracy was a very dedicated soldier and paid the
ultimate sacrifice for our country for our freedom. You'll be missed. Love
Sign Guestbook
A New Auburn native whose passion was barrel-racing died when an improvised explosive device exploded
near her Humvee in Iraq, her mother said Nov. 3.
Army 2nd Lt. Tracy Alger, 30, died Nov. 1, according to her mother Pauline Knutson, of New Auburn.
Alger grew up in New Auburn, went to Chetek High School and then studied graphic design at the University
of Wisconsin-River Falls.
“Serving her country was what she wanted,” Knutson said. “We had a conversation before she left that she
might not be coming back, so we spent as much time together as we could.”  Knutson said her daughter
started considering the service after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

After college, she worked as a graphic artist and then a certified nursing assistant at a nursing home before
signing up for the National Guard.
She moved to Fort Campbell, Ky. within the last year, she said. Alger was in charge of convoys that
transported supplies, her mother said.  “She was a very considerate officer,” Knutson said. “She didn’t have
to go on a lot of the convoys, but she wanted to serve alongside her people. She was not a stay-back-at-
camp kind of person.”

Knutson said Alger wrote her aunt a letter, which arrived Oct. 28.
“She wrote a letter that they were going into a big mission and they were concerned about it,” she said.  
Alger spent many years barrel-racing, a rodeo-like event in which horse and rider are timed as they
maneuver around large barrels, she said. Her horse, Tango, is boarded at Knutson’s home.  She was on the
rodeo team at River Falls, and before she left she was president of the Wisconsin Girls Barrel Racing
Association, Knutson said.
“She was such a good daughter,” Knutson said. “We spent a lot of time together traveling to barrel races.
She was my right-hand person. We did everything together.”
Alger’s younger sister, Tanya Leo, served in the Air Force. Tanya’s husband also was in the service, and
Knutson was a member of the National Guard.

The family planned to wait for her body to return home before setting up the funeral, she said. Family and
friends were putting up a memorial in her yard Nov. 3 that included a flag pole. She said it was a bright spot
in her day.  “She would want that,” she said.                                                       
reprinted from MilitaryCity