| We received this e-mail as a guest book entry, however due to it's poignancy it is reposted as front page news:
Signed on April 14, 2010 at 9:15 AM
Guest Name: LTC Kevin T. Murphy
Rank/Title: Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army Special Forces
Location: Ft. Bragg, NC
Comments: Please know that our Command flag flies at half-mast in honor of Ranger Jankiewicz. We have lost a great American and an outstanding Ranger. Ramsey has lost one of its most precious sons. Know without doubt that Ranger Jankiewicz's sacrifice will never be forgotten.
Corporal Michael D. Jankiewicz
Killed in action on April 9, 2010
Operation Enduring Freedom
Corporal Michael D. Jankiewicz was a machine gun team leader assigned to Company A, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was born on Jan. 23, 1987 in Ridgewood, New Jersey.
Cpl. Jankiewicz was killed during a combat operation in Zabul Province, Afghanistan April 9, 2010 when the CV-22 Osprey aircraft in which he was riding crashed. He was rapidly pulled from the wreckage and treated by unit medical personal, but succumbed quickly to the injuries he had sustained.
Cpl. Jankiewicz was on his fourth deployment in support of the War on Terror with one previous deployment to Afghanistan and two to Iraq.
After graduating from Bergen County Technical High School in Teterboro, New Jersey, Cpl. Jankiewicz enlisted in the U.S. Army in July 2006 in Philadelphia. He completed One Station Unit Training at Fort Benning, Georgia as an Infantryman. Then after graduating from the Basic Airborne Course, he was assigned to the Ranger Indoctrination Program also at Fort Benning.
Following graduation from the Ranger Indoctrination Program, Cpl. Jankiewicz was assigned to Company A, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment in May 2007 where he served as a Grenadier, Machine Gunner, and Machine Gun Team Leader.
His military education includes the Basic Airborne Course, Ranger Indoctrination Program, and the U.S. Army Ranger Course.
His awards and decorations include the Ranger Tab, Combat Infantryman's Badge and the Parachutist Badge. He has also been awarded the Army Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Army Service Ribbon.
He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Meritorious Service Medal.
Cpl. Jankiewicz is survived by his father Anthony Jankiewicz of Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania and Serena Jankiewicz of Ramsey, New Jersey.
As a Ranger, Cpl. Michael D. Jankiewicz selflessly lived his life for others while he distinguished himself as a member of the Army's premier light-infantry unit, which remains continuously deployed in support of the Global War on Terrorism. In every instance he fought valiantly as he served his fellow Rangers and our great Nation.
- RANGERS LEAD THE WAY! |
