Army Capt. Clayton L. Adamkavicius

Remember Our Heroes

Army Capt. Clayton L. Adamkavicius, 43, of Fairdale, Ky.

Capt. Adamkavicius was assigned to the 149th Brigade, 35th Infantry Division, Kentucky Army National Guard, Louisville, Ky.; died April 21 of injuries sustained from enemy small-arms fire during combat operations in Abu Ghurayb, Afghanistan.

Capt. Clayton Lee Adamkavicius, a California native, was fatally wounded Thursday by small arms fire while he was investigating a weapons cache soldiers found in the Uruzghan Province in the central part of the country. He was assigned to Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 149th Infantry, which is based in Barbourville, Ky.

Adamkavicius had served with the Kentucky Guard since 1986. It was his third deployment, Guard officials said.

"He was a fine young officer and will be missed by his family, his fellow soldiers and everyone who knew him," Maj. Gen. Donald Storm, Kentucky's Adjutant General said. "It's a heartbreak for the National Guard and the citizens of the Commonwealth."

Storm discussed Adamkavicius' death Saturday at the Kentucky National Guard Armory in Louisville. He said the loss of life should inspire U.S. troops, and stressed the importance of continuing to fight the war on terror.

"We're heartbroken, but we're so determined," Storm said.

Storm said Adamkavicius had been training Afghan soldiers when he was killed. He received the Bronze Star medal, a Purple Heart and the Kentucky Distinguished Service Medal for his time in Afghanistan.

Adamkavicius is survived by his wife, Bonnie, of Louisville. His father, Edmond Adamkavicius, lives in Pasadena, Calif., and he has a daughter who lives in Nevada. National Guard officials said Saturday that Adamkavicius' family did not wish to speak with reporters.

Adamkavicius is the 11th and highest-ranking Kentucky Army National Guard soldier killed in the war on terrorism, which includes U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is the first Kentucky National Guard member to die in Operating Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, which began in October 2001.

Adamkavicius' first two deployments with the National Guard were to Bosnia in 2003 and 2004.

By KEITH ROGERS
REVIEW-JOURNAL
A former Nevada Army National Guard soldier was killed Friday by small arms fire in Afghanistan.

Capt. Clayton L. Adamkavicius, 43, was serving with the Kentucky National Guard, mentoring Afghan army commanders, U.S. military officials said Monday.

Adamkavicius was mortally wounded while investigating a weapons cache discovered near Dihrawud in Afghanistan's Uruzghan Province, officials said. Adamkavicius has a daughter who lives in Nevada, according to a statement from the Kentucky National Guard.

A Nevada military spokeswoman said Adamkavicius had been a soldier in the Nevada Army National Guard from April 1993 to March 1999, when he was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 221st Cavalry.

Records show he was commissioned through the Nevada Guard's Officer Candidate School in 1995 and transferred to the Individual Ready Reserve in March 1999. He had served in the Air Force as an active duty enlisted man from May 1983 through March 1990.

Most recently, he had been a resident of Fairdale, Ky. A Pentagon statement late Monday said Adamkavicius was assigned to the Army National Guard's 149th Brigade, 35th Infantry Division out of Louisville, Ky.

Col. Phil Miller, a spokesman for the Kentucky National Guard said Adamkavicius was helping train Afghan army personnel along with 95 soldiers from the Kentucky Guard assigned to Task Force Phoenix.

The Kentucky Guard's statement quoted the state's adjutant general, Maj. Gen. Donald C. Storm, saying Adamkavicius was "a fine young officer and will be missed by his family, his fellow soldiers and everyone who knew him.

"Clayton Adamkavicius made the ultimate sacrifice for his nation," Storm said.

This was third deployment for Adamkavicius with the Kentucky Guard.

He served in Eastern Europe in 2003 as a headquarters company commander at Eagle Base, Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and in 2004 he served in Bosnia.

His medals include the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

In addition to his daughter, he is survived by his wife, Bonnie, of Louisville, and his father, Edmond Adamkavicius of Pasadena, Calif.

Army Capt. Clayton L. Adamkavicius was killed in action on 04/21/06.