Tonight we honor the life an memory of Christopher Rudzinski, a military police officer, who lost his life in Afghanistan on Friday. Sgt. Rudzinski was a son, a father, a husband, and a brother, and he was loved by those who worked with him in the military.
On Saturday, the Department of Defense made the following announcement:
Sgt. Christopher M. Rudzinski, 28, of Rantoul, Ill., died Oct. 16 near Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to 293rd Military Police Company, 385th Military Police Battalion, 16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne), Fort Stewart, Ga.
Please follow me below the fold to learn more about the life of Sgt. Rudzinski.
Sgt. Christopher Rudzinski was a native of Rantoul, Illinois and a 1999 graduate of Rantoul High School. Many members of his family have served the United States in the armed forces. His father, Mike, was interviewed by the National Review for an article about soldiers who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom whose fathers had served in Vietnam. Mike Rudzinski served in Kuwait during the early stages of OIF, and his father served in the 101st Airborne as a helicopter and radio repair supervisor during the Vietnam War.
Mike Rudzinski said the following about Christopher's decision to join the military:
I believe Chris joined because he loved his country and he loved his family and he wanted to do something for both. I'd like to think that my dad and I were an inspiration to Chris: after all, my dad was the inspiration for me to join.
Chris's younger brother, Jordan, also joined the Army, and he is scheduled to deploy next year.
Sgt. Christopher Rudzinski was on his fourth tour of duty at the time of his death. He had already served a tour of duty in Kosovo and two tours of duty in Iraq. The picture shown about was taken on the day that Sgt. Rudzinski deployed to Afghanistan.
Christopher Rudzinski is survived by his wife, Caroline, his one-year-old son, Ryan, his father, his older sister, Annette, and his younger brothers. He was predeceased by his mother, Bonita, who died of cancer in 1993 and his sister, Jacqui, who lost her life in a fall in 2005.
Caroline Rudzinski posted the following poem on her myspace page:
Dear Lord,
Give me greatness of heart to see
the difference between duty and his love for me.
Give me understanding that I may know,
when duty calls him, he must go.
Give me a task to do each day,
to fill the time when he's away.
When he's in a foreign land,
keep him safe in your loving hand.
And Lord, when duty is in the field,
please protect him and be his shield.
And Lord, when deployment is so long,
please stay with me and keep me strong.
Amen.
There is nothing more that I can say. May Sgt. Rudzinski rest in eternal peace, and may their family and friends wrap their loving arms around his wife and son.
Poppies are the universal symbols of remembrance:
Rest in peace, Christopher.
About "I Got the News Today" (IGTNT)
I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor service members who have died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; 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.
Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, blue jersey mom, twilight falling, joyful, roses, Chacounne, JeNoCo, SisTwo, SpamNunn, a girl in MI, JanosNation, Proud Mom and Grandma and True Blue Majority.
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.