Sep 18, 2008 10:48 pm US/Central
2 Illinois Soldiers Die In Iraq And Afghanistan
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Jason Vazquez, 24, was killed Wednesday in Afghanistan.
CBS
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Leonard J. Gulczynski, 19, was killed Wednesday in Iraq
CBS
The casualties of war hit close to home Thursday night as two Illinois servicemen were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Two local families are in mourning after losing their loved ones in two different wars. CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot reports.
"My son loved his country. He paid the ultimate price," said Michael Gulczynski, soldier's father.
Private First Class Leonard Joseph Gulczynski II, of Carol Stream, was killed yesterday in Iraq. Gulczynski was in a convoy. He was atop a humvee at a turret. There was a head-on collision with a civilian vehicle. The 19-year-old was ejected from the humvee.
He was proud of the fact that he got that position," said Jackie Gulczynski, soldier's mother.
On the volleyball and football teams, Gulczynski graduated from Bartlett High School in 2007. At the age of 17, he signed up to serve in the military. He followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather.
At birth, Gulczynski had pneumonia. At six months, he was diagnosed with asthma. He grew out of that condition to be the young man who was at the top of his military class in physical fitness.
"He came into this world as a fighter," Jackie said. "Fighting for his breath, because he couldn't breathe because of pneumonia. And he left this world, fighting for his country."
After hearing the news, students and staff at Bartlett High School honored "Lenny" with a moment of silence on Thursday morning. The school has placed a flower arrangement along with a photo of Leonard at the school's flagpole.
School District U-46 has received authority from the Governor's office to fly its flags at half-staff tomorrow, Sept. 19, in honor of Pfc. Gulczynski.
On the same day Gulczynski died, Sgt. Jason Vazquez of Chicago lost his life while on duty in Afghanistan. A correctional officer with the Cook County Sheriff's Department, Vazquez was in the Illinois National Guard. In Afghanistan only one month, he was on his second tour of duty.
"It's real hard to believe. Not him - he was too good of a person to go so soon like this," said Ray Hernandez, soldier's friend.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart had praise for Vazquez.
"Officer Jason Vazquez was a giving person, as evidenced by his noble service to both the Cook County Sheriff's Department and the U.S. military," Dart said in a release.
A 2002 graduate of Schurz High School on the Northwest Side, Vazquez attended Triton College before enlisting in the U.S. Army, where he was trained in both military police and cannon crew duties, the release said. He achieved the rank of sergeant.
Vazquez was a decorated soldier having received the Army Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal and the Army Forces Reserve Medal. He is survived by his father and sister who live in Chicago and his mother and a brother, who live in Miami. Sgt. Vazquez was 24 years old.
"We are honored to have known him and are thankful for the selfless spirit by which he lived," Dart said in the release.
CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot, the Associated Press and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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