Since he arrived at the United States Military Academy after graduating from St. Augustine Preparatory School in 2004, Salvatore Corma had known of the cost of America's wars. At the dining hall for the West Point Cadets, a soaring and splendid Gothic creation on a bluff over the Hudson River, mealtimes are interrupted by the announcement of deaths of graduates, officers who have lost their lives in combat.
During his four years in the Academy, Salvatore heard dozens of such announcements. Although, like all cadets, he could have left the Academy after two years without penalty, he chose to stay.
This week, the cadets at West Point heard Salvatore Corma's name announced.
The Department of Defense has announcedthe loss of First Lieutenant Salvatore S. Corma, of Wenonah, N.J. 1LT Corma, serving with 2-508th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Afghanistan, was killed by insurgents who attacked his unit with improvised explosive devices. Salvatore was only 24 years old.
He had only just returned to Afghanistan; he had recently been home on leave in New Jersey, visiting his father, who has been ill.
During his time at West Point, Salvatore continued to demonstrate his remarkable martial arts skills--his high school classmates remember him shattering concrete blocks on his stomach at the Senior Year talent show. He was an expert in Tae Kwon Do, even representing the Academy at the National Championships in 2005. In a match at MIT he sprained his ankle. In typically humble fashion, he gave credit to others for the extraordinarily courageous act of continuing:
"Fearing I was unable to go on, my teammates played a drastic role in cheering me on and helping me to dig down and find the will to go on and fight three more rounds despite this injury."
One of those teammates, Nick Salinas, said of him
"He was probably one of the nicest, most humble guys you could ever meet. You will not find one person who has a bad thing to say about him. He's going to be greatly missed."
In May of 2008, Sal graduated from West Point, and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. He was assigned to the 82d Airborne Division, where he was serving as a platoon leader, the officer most responsible for the safety of America's youngest soldiers. Just last October he was selected for promotion to First Lieutenant.
Salvatore is remembered as thoughtful and kind to others. The mayor of Deptford Township had coached him in little league baseball and wrote a recommendation letter for him to the Military Academy. The mayor told the press that the young man's habit of thanking him after coaching baseball games was repeated when Salvatore sent a letter of thanks upon graduating from West Point.
"Sal was one of the most selfless and compassionate people I have ever met, and that is the reason why he was respected by his men," said 1st Lt. William L. Banks, a fellow platoon leader.
1LT Corma is survived by his parents, Salvatore and Gertrude Corma. He is their only child.
The last words go to Salvatore Corma, who put the following words into his senior quote in the St. Augustine yearbook:
"His loss is sad, a tragedy, but he became an Army officer and fought for our country. He lived his dreams."
Information for this diary from CourierPostOnline, PressOfAtlanticCity.com, and NJ.Com
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About the IGTNT Series
"I Got the News Today" is a diary series intended to honor, respect, and remind us of the sacrifice of our U.S. troops. Click here 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, Proud Mom and Grandma, Sandy on Signal, and CalNM. These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but are an important service to those who have died, and show our community’s respect for them.
Fallen service members whose names have been released by the US Department of Defense will usually be diaried two days after the official announcement on the DoD website. This allows the IGTNT team to cover each person more fully, but still in a timely manner
Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and family of the service members mentioned here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.
Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and family of the service members mentioned here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.