A 3rd Infantry Division soldier died on July 2 in Balad, Iraq, from injuries he received when a panel from a mobile radar system fell on him. The accident is still under investigation.
Sgt. Johnny W. Lumpkin, 38, of Columbus, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd ID.
“Sgt. Lumpkin was conducting a replacement of a radar system. There was an equipment failure, which resulted in a radar panel dropping and pinning him,” Fort Stewart spokesperson Kevin Larson said.

This deployment was Lumpkin’s third, according to Larson.  The sergeant arrived in Iraq in March.
“Sgt. Lumpkin was a FireFinder Radar Operator who enlisted in the Army in November 2003,” Larson said.
Lumpkin is survived by his wife of nine years, Carol Lumpkin, his son, Brandon Welch, 19, and two stepchildren, according to the Ledger-Enquirer newspaper in Columbus. He was the son of Jan and Wayne Lumpkin of Columbus, according to freedomremembered.com.
The Ledger-Enquirer reported the late sergeant graduated from Jordan High School in 1989. Lumpkin joined the Army when he was 31 years old, allegedly because he had a hard time finding viable employment, according to www.ledger-enquirer.com. Before he enlisted in the military he worked at a carpet mill and a cable company, the Columbus newspaper reported.
Lumpkin is to be buried in Fort Mitchell National Cemetery in Fort Mitchell, Alabama, according to the Ledger-Enquirer and freedomremembered.com.