Army Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Venetz Jr

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Venetz Jr., 30, of Wading River, N.Y.

SFC Venetz was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Jan. 28, 2011 in Parwan province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained in a non-combat-related incident.

WASHINGTON--A Special Forces soldier with ties to Virginia died January 28th in a non-combat related incident in Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. The cause of his death is still under investigation.

Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Venetz, Jr., 30, was a Special Forces engineer sergeant assigned to Co. A, 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group.

Venetz, a native of Long Island, N.Y., enlisted in the Army in February, 2001, in Prince William County, Va., as an infantryman, and attended Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Benning, Ga.

His first assignment was with the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment out of Fort Hood, Texas, where he was assigned to a scout platoon. During this time he deployed to Cuba and twice to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

In 2007, Venetz volunteered to become a Special Forces Soldier. He graduated from the Special Forces Qualification Course in March, 2009, and was assigned to A Co, 2nd Bn., 7th SFG (A).

His other military education includes the Warrior Leaders Course, Basic Noncommissioned Officer Course, Combat Lifesaver Course, Basic Airborne Course, Army Sniper Course, and the Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape Course.

His awards and decorations were numerous. They included two Bronze Star Medals, one with valor, two Purple Heart Awards, four Army Commendation Medals, with two for valor, Army Good Conduct Medal , National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation, Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Meritorious Unit Award, Special Forces Tab, Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Infantryman Badge, and the Parachutist Badge.

Wading River soldier killed in Afghanistan

Anthony Venetz Jr. and Jonathan Keller grew up on the same block in Wading River. They were one grade apart in high school. And they both served the U.S. Army in Afghanistan.

Now, almost two years to the day apart, they have both suffered the same grim fate; Sgt. 1st Class Venetz died Friday in a non-combat related incident in Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan.

Sgt. Venetz, 30, was a Special Forces engineer sergeant assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Force Group, according to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

The cause of his death is still under investigation, Pentagon officials said.. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Spc. Keller, who graduated from Shoreham-Wading River High School in 1998, one year before Sgt. Venetz had graduated, died Jan. 24, 2009, nine months after suffering a gunshot wound in a firefight.

Jerry McGrath, a retired teacher who also lives on Long Pond Road, remembers both Sgt. Venetz and Spc. Keller from their days at Wading River Elementary School.

Mr. McGrath said he was shocked to hear the news of Sgt. Venetz’s death.

“I felt so bad when I heard about it the other day,” Mr. McGrath said Monday night. “I remember Anthony as a great kid.”

Mr. McGrath said he contacted Sgt. Venetz’s sister, Erica, over the weekend. She said the family was grateful for the outpouring of support from the community.

Sgt. Venetz enlisted in the Army in February, 2001, in Prince William, Va. as an infantryman, and attended Basic Combat Tralning and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Benning, Ga., according to the USASOC news service. His first assignment was with the 1st Battalion, 22nd infantry Regiment out of Fort Hood, Texas, where he was assigned as a scout platoon, and during which time he was deployed to Cuba once and Iraq twice in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Sgt. Venetz volunteered to become a Special Forces soldier in 2007, graduated from Special Forces Qualification Course in 2009 and was assigned to the 7th Special Forces Airborn Group in Fort Bragg, N.C., Army officials said.

Mr. Venetz’s other military education includes the Warrior Leaders Course, Basic Noncommissioned OHTCGT Course, Combat Lifesaver Course, Basic Airbome Course, Army Sniper Course, and the Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape Course, according to the USASOC.

Sgt. 1st Class Venetz, Jr. is survived by his wife Debbie and two young children Alexa and Jace (no ages given) currently in Killeen, TX; his father and step mother Tony (Sr) and Karen Venetz of Aiken, SC; his mother Marion Venetz of Wading River, NY., as well as his two sisters Erika Zowd and Andrea Eisgruber both of Baltimore, MD.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Venetz Jr was killed in a non-combat related incident on 1/28/11.