Tonight, we honor two more soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
Since 2001, there have been 1016 American troops killed in Afghanistan. Since 2003, there have been 4382 American troops killed in Iraq. Please take a moment to honor their sacrifice.
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Thanks to Monkey Biz for this special tribute.
Spc. Anthony A. Paci, 30, of Rockville, Md. and of the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry, 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. "died Mar. 4 at Gereshk, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered during a vehicle rollover," says the Department of Defense.
“He was such a great guy. I couldn’t have asked for a better son-in-law. ... He was such a great dad. Macho Army guy, but loving and caring and changing diapers.” -- Mother-in-law Kathleen Severino (Source)
Anthony “Tony” Paci died while trying not to harm civilians. His father, Leo Paci, told News 4 what military representatives had told him: that his son spotted a civilan family in the way of his vehicle, and asked the driver to swerve. The driver complied. Paci, who was leaning out of the Stryker tank, was killed when it rolled over.
He'll never ride the motorcycle that his wife Erica bought him for his planned return in June. He won't hug and kiss his three small children ever again. His laugh, his great sense of humor--lost.
“He was such a great guy. I couldn’t have asked for a better son-in-law,” said Kathleen Severino, 58. “He was such a great dad. Macho Army guy, but loving and caring and changing diapers.”
“He died a hero,” added Paci’s father-in-law, Pasquale Severino, 59, himself a U.S. Army veteran who served in Vietnam.
(snip)
“She’s completely devastated,” Severino said of her widowed daughter. “It was heartbreaking to see her on Friday (when Paci’s body arrived at Dover Air Force Base in a U.S. flag-draped casket). She would say, ‘It’s not really happening, Mom.’”
His mother, Helene Paci, told the Washington Post that her son "loved his job. He hated to leave his wife and kids, but he loved his job."
The article continues:
Paci grew up playing combat video games that might have foreshadowed his career, but he arrived in the Army much later, at age 24, inspired partly by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and by the Marines who frequented the District restaurant where he was working as a waiter.
Helene Paci said that her son admired the camaraderie and trust among the Marines he got to know. "It sparked this desire to want to be in the military," she said.
He died on his mother's 51st birthday. "'He left for boot camp on our wedding anniversary,' Helene Paci recalls, a glint of humor penetrating the heartbreak. ''He had a knack for doing things so we remembered them.'"
According to the Army Times, Paci, who enlisted in October 2004, was in Afghanistan for his second deployment; he spent his first deployment, from December 2005 to November 2006, in Iraq. In the course of his military service, he earned numerous awards and decorations, including the Army Commendation Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army National Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Combat Infantry Badge and Expert Infantry Badge.
In addition to his wife, "Paci is also survived by his 2½-year-old son Judah and his daughters, Tallulah, 1½, and 3-month-old Mila," says an article on trentonian.com.
A post attached to the Trentonian article from Erica (who writes that she is Tony's Paci's wife) sums up his legacy:
" This is Erica, Tony's wife. My heart is broken into a thousand pieces but the outpouring of support eases the pain just a moment at a time. I never believed I'd have to face this but I did know that as an Army wife I might have to. Tony died protecting the innocent and that was not only his job, it was the type of man he was. There was no hate or malice in Tony's heart. Let him give that gift to you as he's given it to me and our children. He always used to say, "You know me, I don't hate anyone", despite any anger or negativity that came his way. I will spend the rest of my life teaching our children to be more like their father and to be proud of his patriotism, heroism and braveness. "
Godspeed, Spc. Anthony A. Paci.
DoD Announces Army Casualty
Spc. Alan N. Dikcis, 21, of Niagara Falls, N.Y., died March 5 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 630th Engineer Company (Clearance), 7th Engineer Battalion (Combat Effects), 20th Engineer Brigade (Combat) (Airborne), Fort Drum, N.Y.
"Nothing really prepares you for that knock on the door." Dikcis's stepmother, Gricela, told the television station- WIVB. Alan's mother died when he was a child and Gricela had cared for him since that time. She described Alan as a devoted family man and proud father to 3 year old Sophie.
Three of the six boys in the family served in the military. One of the brothers, Stanley, was seriously injured by a bomb in Afghanistan over a year and a half ago. He suffered traumatic brain injury and leg paralysis. He spent a year in Army rehabilitation and returned home last July, just two days before his brother, Alan, deployed to Afghanistan. Now, his brother, Alan, is coming home in a flag draped coffin. Stanley Dikcis spoke about his brother to the Buffalo News:.
"My brother was so dedicated to the Army," said Stanley, 23, who served in the 101st Airborne Division. "He was my best friend and he looked up to me so much. I'm still numb, trying to hold it all together. I've seen a lot of death."
His father, Robert Dikcis, told the newspaper:
Robert said his son was looking forward to a different assignment within the Army. His job was among the most risky -- fixing equipment that breaks down while being used to clear roadside bombs.
"He had one of the worst things to do there. It was like Russian roulette -- a mechanic and route clearance," the elder Dikcis said.
Spc. Dikcis was expected home for a vacation in two weeks. His father told the paper:
"This is just going to be very, very hard," said his father, Robert S. Dikcis, in a telephone interview from Dover, Del., while waiting for his son's body to be returned. "He will be very missed. I had a lot of plans for us together to do things. This will be very hard. I'm kind of at a loss."
Spc. Dikcis received the following awards and decorations: Purple Heart, Bronze Star Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, and NATO Medal. This was his first deployment.
Spc. Alan Dikcis leaves behind a daughter, Sophia Marieana Brown, and her mother, Nikki Brown; his father, Robert S. Sr., and stepmother, Gricela “Gigi”; three brothers, Robert S. Jr., Stanley R. and Robert A.; and two stepbrothers, Army Pfc. Thomas A. Cannuli and Randolph M. Cannuli. Thomas Canulli is serving with the Army in Iraq.
Deepest condolences to the family and friends of Spc. Alan Dikcis.
I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor, respect and remind. Its title is a reminder that almost every day a military family gets the terrible news about a loved one. Diaries about the fallen usually appear two days after their names are officially released, which allows time for the IGTNT team to find and tell their stories.
All of the U.S. fatalities can be seen here and here. They all had loved ones, families and friends. The DoD news releases are here. I Got the News Today is intended to honor, respect and remind. Click the IGTNT tags below for previous diaries.
Click the IGTNT tags to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by monkeybiz, noweasels, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, roses, SisTwo, a girl in MI, Spam Nunn, JeNoCo, Janos Nation, True Blue Majority, CalNM, and me, Sandy on Signal.
Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and family of the service members chronicled here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.