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The Plant City Courier & Tribune

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Body of Plant City soldier returns from Afghanistan

Staff photo by PETER MASA

Mashelle Lembke stands over the casket of her husband, U.S. Army Specialist Eric Lembke, after his body was flown in to MacDill Air Force Base.

TBO.com

Published: November 5, 2009

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Eric Lembke

TAMPA - The body of Plant City soldier Eric Lembke arrived at MacDill Air Force Base this afternoon aboard a Dassault Falcon 20 jet.

A hearse will carry the Army specialist's body to Hopewell Funeral Home in Plant City in preparation for his funeral Saturday. A 20-vehicle motorcade provided by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office will accompany the procession along Bayshore Boulevard, State Road 60 and the Selmon Crosstown Expressway.

Lembke was killed Oct. 23 while serving in Afghanistan. His body was flown to Tampa from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Lembke, 25, was raised in Plant City, attended Plant City High and graduated from Simmons Career Center in May 2002. He is survived by his wife, Mashelle, and their children, Alexis, 6, and Nathaniel, 3.

Lembke joined the military Jan. 29, 2008. Trained as a combat engineer, his main duty in Afghanistan was to find hidden and detonate explosives, his wife said. She said military sources told her he was killed by an improvised explosive device while on a routine mission.

The family lived in Colorado Springs, Colo., while Lembke was on active duty.

Visitations services will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Plant City's First Baptist Church. A funeral service at the church will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday.

Burial will take place immediately after the funeral at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell.

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