Tim Vakoc Henry Timothy " Tim " Vakoc ( " VAH - kitch " ) ( January 8 , 1960 – June 20 , 2009 ) was a Roman Catholic priest and a United States Army chaplain during the Iraq War , attaining the rank of major . Vakoc was the only U . S . military chaplain to die from wounds received in the Iraq War . He was critically injured on May 29 , 2004 , when his Humvee was struck by an IED ( improvised explosive device ) as he was returning from celebrating Mass for soldiers . He was also the first documented U . S . Army chaplain seriously injured during Operation Iraqi Freedom . He died on June 20 , 2009 . Early years . Vakoc was born on January 8 , 1960 , in Robbinsdale , Minnesota . He graduated in 1978 from Benilde - St . Margaret ' s School , Minneapolis . He graduated from St . Cloud State University , St . Cloud , Minnesota and was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity . Seminary and priesthood . He attended Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity , at the University of St . Thomas , St . Paul , Minnesota . On May 29 , 1992 , he was ordained a Roman Catholic priest , for the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis . Vakoc ' s first assignment was as associate pastor at St . Charles Borromeo Church , in St . Anthony , Minn . ( 1992 – 1993 ) . He later served as associate pastor of St . John Neumann Church , in Eagan , Minn . ( 1993 – 1996 ) . He left that post to join the Army . Military service . Vakoc became an Army chaplain in 1996 , receiving his commission as a lieutenant in the Army chaplain corps . He was assigned to Fort Carson , Colo . , where he served for three and a half years . He was then assigned as chaplain for the 44th Corps Support Battalion from Fort Lewis , Wash . The 44th provided logistical support to the Fort Lewis - based units in northern Iraq , including the Task Force Olympia headquarters and the 3rd Brigade , 2nd Infantry Division , the Army ' s first Stryker vehicle brigade . The 44th was sent to Iraq in November 2003 . While in Iraq Vakoc endeavored to celebrate Mass for soldiers in the 296th Brigade Support Battalion – stationed in Mosul – no matter where they were located , in an area the size of Connecticut , sometimes for only two or three soldiers in remote outposts . In a letter to his sister , Vakoc said , " The safest place for me to be is in the center of God ' s will , and if that is in the line of fire , that is where I will be . " Vakoc was injured on May 29 , 2004 – the twelfth anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood – while returning from saying Mass for soldiers in the field in Iraq when his Humvee struck a roadside bomb ( IED ) . He sustained a severe brain injury . He was treated at an Army field hospital in Baghdad and was then evacuated to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany . On June 2 , 2004 , he was transported to Walter Reed Army Medical Center , Washington , D . C . Post - injury . Vakoc received the Purple Heart in his room at Walter Reed Army Medical Center during a private ceremony limited to immediate family members , Army personnel , and then - U . S . Senator Norm Coleman , who presented the medal . Due to the seriousness of Vakoc ' s injuries and his unstable condition , Coleman was able to expedite the granting of the award . After several months , he was transferred to the Minneapolis VA Medical Center , where he lay in a coma for six months . In the late spring of 2005 , he began to show signs of improvement . With the help of the Yellow Ribbon Fund , a special computer was donated so that he could communicate with others . On June 1 , 2005 , a flag – signed by Vakoc and his unit – was given to him . His first message to the visitors who presented the flag was " TIM 4F " ( the military code for unfit for duty ) and then " OK " . Death . Vakoc died on June 20 , 2009 , at a nursing home in New Hope , Minnesota . His body was interred in Fort Snelling National Cemetery , Minneapolis . Awards and decorations . Vakoc was awarded the following medals : Honors . On June 1 , 2007 , Vakoc received the 2007 Distinguished Alumnus Award from his alma mater , the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity . In spring 2011 , the Father H . Timothy Vakoc Council 15269 received its charter from the Supreme Council of the Knights of Columbus . The council is located at Fort Carson , Colorado , and is one of more than sixty K of C military councils in the world .