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Blast in Iraq kills soldier from Springs

Published September 7, 2007 at midnight

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A Colorado man was one of two soldiers killed in an explosion Wednesday in Iraq.

Pfc. Dane R. Balcon, 19, of Colorado Springs, died from wounds he suffered when an improvised explosive device went off in Balad.

Balcon was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, based at Fort Hood, Texas.

The other soldier who was killed was Cpl. William T. Warford III, 24, of Temple, Texas. Warford was assigned to the 215th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, also based at Fort Hood.

Balcon was interviewed last September by the Colorado Springs Gazette in a story that reported on the Dragon Man's 15th annual Machine Gun Shoot.

He was one of the participants at the event, in which civilians get a chance to shoot a variety of automatic weapons.

"It's not your dad's 12-gauge," Balcon said at the time.

"A lot of people think kids shouldn't be around guns, but the more educated they are, the safer you can be."