Operation Desert Storm
Purple Heart
Wieczorek. David Town Mourns Soldier It Considered Its Own
GENTRY, Ark. - No father or mother will mourn when young David Wieczorek comes home from Desert Storm.
But the 1,600 people of Gentry grieve no less than the slain soldier's parents would, if they were alive.
Most Americans are celebrating victory and little loss of U.S. lives. But flags fly at half-staff in this town north of Siloam Springs. For Gentry, Wieczorek's death has personalized the Persian Gulf War.
Wieczorek, 21, was a private in the Army's 1st Cavalry Division. He died Friday after he stepped on a grenade-like component of an allied bomb in southern Iraq, according to Associated Press reports. He was the fourth Arkansan killed in action in the gulf war.
The news reached Gentry on Monday. High School Principal Richard Denniston ordered an assembly for juniors and seniors, where he broke the news. Many students left early. The school's flag was lowered, as were those at the fire station and post office.
"Out of those thousands of troops, not more than a hundred or so killed. And we lose one from our little town," said Bill Backer, a businessman and Korean War veteran.
"I've been in combat. All it takes is one little mistake and tragedy strikes," he said.
The shooting had technically stopped for Wieczorek's company. When the cease-fire came, his Wolfpack company was stopped at emplacements once held by Iraq's Republican Guard. The sand was scattered with tiny metal cylinders - dud bomblets from allied cluster bombs. Searching for souvenirs, another soldier pocketed one. It blew off his hand and leg, but he survived.
Hearing the explosion, Wieczorek and his company assumed it was Iraqi mortar fire. Wieczorek started sprinting across the sand to his Bradley fighting vehicle. He stepped on the explosive. The blast tore off his legs and hurled him into the air. Shrapnel wounded a nearby soldier. A helicopter took Wieczorek to a medical base, where he died.
Wieczorek's father died some years ago. His mother, Helen, died during his senior year at Gentry High School. Wieczorek starred in basketball and other sports despite those losses. And the entire town became a sort of surrogate family.
He moved in with Mike and Nora Savage, parents of his best friend, Joe, who also joined the Army. Jim Twiggs, a grocer, became another father figure. Twiggs IGA is the only grocery in town. Wieczorek worked there as a bagger, meat cutter and cashier. The job, his outgoing humor and athletic prowess made him well-known and well-liked throughout town.
Twiggs encouraged Wieczorek to enter college, and the young man agreed. But he wanted to enter the Army first, and use military benefits to pay for his education.
"I don't think you could find anybody who didn't like him," said David VanSandt, 18, who graduated the year after Wieczorek. "He would do anything for anybody. My girlfriend found out at school and came by my house last night to tell me. I could hardly stand it," VanSandt said.
A visitor talked about defending freedom, economic security, bringing democracy to Kuwait and curbing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's terrorism threat. He asked VanSandt whether Wieczorek's sacrifice was worth it. "I don't know, right now," VanSandt replied. "With a loss like that, it's hard to say."
Source: Tulsa World, Tulsa, OK, March 7, 1991, extracted May 20, 2007
More:
Army Pvt. David Mark Wieczorek, 21, of Gentry died last week when he stepped on an unexploded cluster bomb in southern Iraq. An Army official confirmed the death Monday.
Wieczorek, a former basketball player at Gentry High School, was killed after an explosion sent him running toward his Bradley fighting vehicle. A reporter who witnessed the initial blast said Wieczorek stepped on a small metal cylinder that exploded. He is survived by a brother in Indiana.
Is remembered at: Row 2 Block 2 on The Gulf War Veterans Memorial
California
Purple Heart
Wieczorek. David Town Mourns Soldier It Considered Its Own
GENTRY, Ark. - No father or mother will mourn when young David Wieczorek comes home from Desert Storm.
But the 1,600 people of Gentry grieve no less than the slain soldier's parents would, if they were alive.
Most Americans are celebrating victory and little loss of U.S. lives. But flags fly at half-staff in this town north of Siloam Springs. For Gentry, Wieczorek's death has personalized the Persian Gulf War.
Wieczorek, 21, was a private in the Army's 1st Cavalry Division. He died Friday after he stepped on a grenade-like component of an allied bomb in southern Iraq, according to Associated Press reports. He was the fourth Arkansan killed in action in the gulf war.
The news reached Gentry on Monday. High School Principal Richard Denniston ordered an assembly for juniors and seniors, where he broke the news. Many students left early. The school's flag was lowered, as were those at the fire station and post office.
"Out of those thousands of troops, not more than a hundred or so killed. And we lose one from our little town," said Bill Backer, a businessman and Korean War veteran.
"I've been in combat. All it takes is one little mistake and tragedy strikes," he said.
The shooting had technically stopped for Wieczorek's company. When the cease-fire came, his Wolfpack company was stopped at emplacements once held by Iraq's Republican Guard. The sand was scattered with tiny metal cylinders - dud bomblets from allied cluster bombs. Searching for souvenirs, another soldier pocketed one. It blew off his hand and leg, but he survived.
Hearing the explosion, Wieczorek and his company assumed it was Iraqi mortar fire. Wieczorek started sprinting across the sand to his Bradley fighting vehicle. He stepped on the explosive. The blast tore off his legs and hurled him into the air. Shrapnel wounded a nearby soldier. A helicopter took Wieczorek to a medical base, where he died.
Wieczorek's father died some years ago. His mother, Helen, died during his senior year at Gentry High School. Wieczorek starred in basketball and other sports despite those losses. And the entire town became a sort of surrogate family.
He moved in with Mike and Nora Savage, parents of his best friend, Joe, who also joined the Army. Jim Twiggs, a grocer, became another father figure. Twiggs IGA is the only grocery in town. Wieczorek worked there as a bagger, meat cutter and cashier. The job, his outgoing humor and athletic prowess made him well-known and well-liked throughout town.
Twiggs encouraged Wieczorek to enter college, and the young man agreed. But he wanted to enter the Army first, and use military benefits to pay for his education.
"I don't think you could find anybody who didn't like him," said David VanSandt, 18, who graduated the year after Wieczorek. "He would do anything for anybody. My girlfriend found out at school and came by my house last night to tell me. I could hardly stand it," VanSandt said.
A visitor talked about defending freedom, economic security, bringing democracy to Kuwait and curbing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's terrorism threat. He asked VanSandt whether Wieczorek's sacrifice was worth it. "I don't know, right now," VanSandt replied. "With a loss like that, it's hard to say."
Source: Tulsa World, Tulsa, OK, March 7, 1991, extracted May 20, 2007
More:
Army Pvt. David Mark Wieczorek, 21, of Gentry died last week when he stepped on an unexploded cluster bomb in southern Iraq. An Army official confirmed the death Monday.
Wieczorek, a former basketball player at Gentry High School, was killed after an explosion sent him running toward his Bradley fighting vehicle. A reporter who witnessed the initial blast said Wieczorek stepped on a small metal cylinder that exploded. He is survived by a brother in Indiana.
Is remembered at: Row 2 Block 2 on The Gulf War Veterans Memorial
California
Operation Desert Storm
Purple Heart
Wieczorek. David Town Mourns Soldier It Considered Its Own
GENTRY, Ark. - No father or mother will mourn when young David Wieczorek comes home from Desert Storm.
But the 1,600 people of Gentry grieve no less than the slain soldier's parents would, if they were alive.
Most Americans are celebrating victory and little loss of U.S. lives. But flags fly at half-staff in this town north of Siloam Springs. For Gentry, Wieczorek's death has personalized the Persian Gulf War.
Wieczorek, 21, was a private in the Army's 1st Cavalry Division. He died Friday after he stepped on a grenade-like component of an allied bomb in southern Iraq, according to Associated Press reports. He was the fourth Arkansan killed in action in the gulf war.
The news reached Gentry on Monday. High School Principal Richard Denniston ordered an assembly for juniors and seniors, where he broke the news. Many students left early. The school's flag was lowered, as were those at the fire station and post office.
"Out of those thousands of troops, not more than a hundred or so killed. And we lose one from our little town," said Bill Backer, a businessman and Korean War veteran.
"I've been in combat. All it takes is one little mistake and tragedy strikes," he said.
The shooting had technically stopped for Wieczorek's company. When the cease-fire came, his Wolfpack company was stopped at emplacements once held by Iraq's Republican Guard. The sand was scattered with tiny metal cylinders - dud bomblets from allied cluster bombs. Searching for souvenirs, another soldier pocketed one. It blew off his hand and leg, but he survived.
Hearing the explosion, Wieczorek and his company assumed it was Iraqi mortar fire. Wieczorek started sprinting across the sand to his Bradley fighting vehicle. He stepped on the explosive. The blast tore off his legs and hurled him into the air. Shrapnel wounded a nearby soldier. A helicopter took Wieczorek to a medical base, where he died.
Wieczorek's father died some years ago. His mother, Helen, died during his senior year at Gentry High School. Wieczorek starred in basketball and other sports despite those losses. And the entire town became a sort of surrogate family.
He moved in with Mike and Nora Savage, parents of his best friend, Joe, who also joined the Army. Jim Twiggs, a grocer, became another father figure. Twiggs IGA is the only grocery in town. Wieczorek worked there as a bagger, meat cutter and cashier. The job, his outgoing humor and athletic prowess made him well-known and well-liked throughout town.
Twiggs encouraged Wieczorek to enter college, and the young man agreed. But he wanted to enter the Army first, and use military benefits to pay for his education.
"I don't think you could find anybody who didn't like him," said David VanSandt, 18, who graduated the year after Wieczorek. "He would do anything for anybody. My girlfriend found out at school and came by my house last night to tell me. I could hardly stand it," VanSandt said.
A visitor talked about defending freedom, economic security, bringing democracy to Kuwait and curbing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's terrorism threat. He asked VanSandt whether Wieczorek's sacrifice was worth it. "I don't know, right now," VanSandt replied. "With a loss like that, it's hard to say."
Source: Tulsa World, Tulsa, OK, March 7, 1991, extracted May 20, 2007
More:
Army Pvt. David Mark Wieczorek, 21, of Gentry died last week when he stepped on an unexploded cluster bomb in southern Iraq. An Army official confirmed the death Monday.
Wieczorek, a former basketball player at Gentry High School, was killed after an explosion sent him running toward his Bradley fighting vehicle. A reporter who witnessed the initial blast said Wieczorek stepped on a small metal cylinder that exploded. He is survived by a brother in Indiana.
Is remembered at: Row 2 Block 2 on The Gulf War Veterans Memorial
California
Purple Heart
Wieczorek. David Town Mourns Soldier It Considered Its Own
GENTRY, Ark. - No father or mother will mourn when young David Wieczorek comes home from Desert Storm.
But the 1,600 people of Gentry grieve no less than the slain soldier's parents would, if they were alive.
Most Americans are celebrating victory and little loss of U.S. lives. But flags fly at half-staff in this town north of Siloam Springs. For Gentry, Wieczorek's death has personalized the Persian Gulf War.
Wieczorek, 21, was a private in the Army's 1st Cavalry Division. He died Friday after he stepped on a grenade-like component of an allied bomb in southern Iraq, according to Associated Press reports. He was the fourth Arkansan killed in action in the gulf war.
The news reached Gentry on Monday. High School Principal Richard Denniston ordered an assembly for juniors and seniors, where he broke the news. Many students left early. The school's flag was lowered, as were those at the fire station and post office.
"Out of those thousands of troops, not more than a hundred or so killed. And we lose one from our little town," said Bill Backer, a businessman and Korean War veteran.
"I've been in combat. All it takes is one little mistake and tragedy strikes," he said.
The shooting had technically stopped for Wieczorek's company. When the cease-fire came, his Wolfpack company was stopped at emplacements once held by Iraq's Republican Guard. The sand was scattered with tiny metal cylinders - dud bomblets from allied cluster bombs. Searching for souvenirs, another soldier pocketed one. It blew off his hand and leg, but he survived.
Hearing the explosion, Wieczorek and his company assumed it was Iraqi mortar fire. Wieczorek started sprinting across the sand to his Bradley fighting vehicle. He stepped on the explosive. The blast tore off his legs and hurled him into the air. Shrapnel wounded a nearby soldier. A helicopter took Wieczorek to a medical base, where he died.
Wieczorek's father died some years ago. His mother, Helen, died during his senior year at Gentry High School. Wieczorek starred in basketball and other sports despite those losses. And the entire town became a sort of surrogate family.
He moved in with Mike and Nora Savage, parents of his best friend, Joe, who also joined the Army. Jim Twiggs, a grocer, became another father figure. Twiggs IGA is the only grocery in town. Wieczorek worked there as a bagger, meat cutter and cashier. The job, his outgoing humor and athletic prowess made him well-known and well-liked throughout town.
Twiggs encouraged Wieczorek to enter college, and the young man agreed. But he wanted to enter the Army first, and use military benefits to pay for his education.
"I don't think you could find anybody who didn't like him," said David VanSandt, 18, who graduated the year after Wieczorek. "He would do anything for anybody. My girlfriend found out at school and came by my house last night to tell me. I could hardly stand it," VanSandt said.
A visitor talked about defending freedom, economic security, bringing democracy to Kuwait and curbing Iraqi President Saddam Hussein's terrorism threat. He asked VanSandt whether Wieczorek's sacrifice was worth it. "I don't know, right now," VanSandt replied. "With a loss like that, it's hard to say."
Source: Tulsa World, Tulsa, OK, March 7, 1991, extracted May 20, 2007
More:
Army Pvt. David Mark Wieczorek, 21, of Gentry died last week when he stepped on an unexploded cluster bomb in southern Iraq. An Army official confirmed the death Monday.
Wieczorek, a former basketball player at Gentry High School, was killed after an explosion sent him running toward his Bradley fighting vehicle. A reporter who witnessed the initial blast said Wieczorek stepped on a small metal cylinder that exploded. He is survived by a brother in Indiana.
Is remembered at: Row 2 Block 2 on The Gulf War Veterans Memorial
California
Family Members
Parents
