ANOTHER FALLEN HERO

iT'S 6:25 a.m., dark out and Patrick and Junior are sacked out.

Heard on the radio this morning that a Ft. Wayne paratrooper died a few days ago in Iraq from an IED. That's the third Indiana Man in a month. God Bless his soul.


IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 22, 2005
DoD Identifies Army Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the death of four soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died in Bayji, Iraq on Nov. 19, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their HMMWV during combat operations. The soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

Killed were:

1st Lt. Dennis W. Zilinski, 23, of Freehold, N.J.

Staff Sgt. Edward Karolasz, 25, of Powder Springs, N.J.


Cpl. Jonathan F. Blair, 21, of Fort Wayne, Ind.


Spc. Dominic J. Hinton, 24, of Jacksonville, Texas.



Fort Wayne Soldier Killed In Iraq Nov 23, 2005 - (Fort Wayne, IN 11/23/05)--

A Fort Wayne man is the latest area soldier to die in Iraq.

The army says 21-year old Corporal Jonathan Blair was among 5 soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division who died last Saturday in a roadside bombing in the Iraqi city of Beiji.

Blair had graduated from Elmhurst High School in 2002.

He was part of a unit that has been in Iraq since October.

Blair’s death came one week after North Manchester Marine Scott Zubowski was killed in a bombing in Iraq. (Edited by Paula Hinton)




Cpl. Jonathan F. Blair

Blast kills city soldier in Iraq

Jonathan F. Blair was one of four victims Saturday.A 21-year-old Fort Wayne man was among four soldiers killed Saturday in Bayji, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near their Humvees during combat, the Department of Defense announced Tuesday.

Cpl. Jonathan F. Blair was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, of the 101st Airborne Division based in Fort Campbell, Ky.Blair joined the Army in October 2002 and arrived at Fort Campbell in March 2003, according to a written statement from Fort Campbell spokeswoman Kelly Ann Tyler.

He is survived by his mother, Vickie Blair of Fort Wayne, and his father, whose address is unknown.“The family is not prepared to make a statement at this time,” Vickie Blair said Tuesday night.

Also killed in the explosion were 1st Lt. Dennis Zilinski, 23, of Freehold, N.J.; Staff Sgt. Edward Karolasz, 25, of Kearny, N.J.; and Spc. Dominic Hinton, 24, of Jacksonville, Texas.Memorial services for the soldiers will be held in Iraq at a time to be determined. Fort Campbell also has a memorial ceremony monthly for its soldiers; the next is scheduled for Dec. 14....

His death marks the third of a northeast Indiana soldier in less than a month and the fourth this year:

♦On Nov. 12, Lance Cpl. Scott Zubowski, 20, of North Manchester, died after a roadside bomb exploded beneath his military vehicle near Fallujah, in Iraq’s Al Anbar province.


♦On Oct. 25, Sgt. Christopher T. Monroe, 19, of Kendallville, died in Basra, Iraq, after his truck was involved in an accident with a civilian vehicle.

♦On March 26, Bluffton native Master Sgt. Michael T. Hiester died when a mine detonated near his vehicle outside Kabul, Afghanistan.

Blair is the second Fort Wayne native killed in the war on terror.Brian Penisten, 28, was among 16 soldiers killed Nov. 2, 2003, in a missile attack on a helicopter near Fallujah.






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