WEIDEMANN

During his visit to Rhode Island today, President Bush is scheduled to meet with the family of the late Sgt. Michael R. Weidemann, a 23-year-old Newport soldier who was killed in Iraq last October.

Weidemann’s grandmother, Gertrude K.C. Miller, and his four siblings have been invited to meet with Mr. Bush, according to Ambrose C. Miller, of South Kingstown, Weidemann’s uncle.

A White House spokesman yesterday could not confirm or deny whether the president will meet with Weidemann’s family as part of his trip, which includes a speech on the war on terror at the Naval War College, in Newport. The spokesman also would not say if the president would meet with the families of other fallen military personnel from Rhode Island.

There was some confusion about who would represent Weidemann’s family in the meeting with Mr. Bush, according to Miller. He communicated those concerns to Governor Carcieri’s office and other state agencies, trying to ensure that his mother, Gertrude Miller — Weidemann’s maternal grandmother — would be present along with Weidemann’s sister, Catharine E. Weidemann, and three brothers, Richard L. Weidemann and Edward R. and Benjamin J. Berriault.

A spokesman for the governor confirmed that his office had been in touch with Miller but could not provide any other details on the meeting.

“I cannot comment on President Bush’s schedule or any potential meetings he may or may not be having,” Jeff Neal said Tuesday. “However, this office did receive a call from Mr. Miller and we have relayed his information to the White House.”

Weidemann was born in Canada and came to Rhode Island at age 7 when his mother moved here. Susanna Weidemann, a single parent, raised him and his four siblings in her mother’s house in Middletown. But Susanna Weidemann died of cancer in 1999 at 40, and Michael, her second eldest, was placed in a group home.

He attended the Newport Area Career and Technical Center, part of Rogers High School, and got involved in the school’s ROTC program. He rose to the rank of senior noncommissioned officer in the program.

In 2001, the month after his graduation, he enlisted in the Army as an auto mechanic, his area of study at the technical school. He joined the 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, stationed in Glessen, Germany.

He served a tour in Iraq and reenlisted for another four years. He was nearing the end of his second tour when he died Oct. 31 while on patrol in an armored vehicle near Hit, a town west of Baghdad in Anbar province.

He was the 11th Rhode Islander to die in Iraq since 2003.

akuffner@projo.com