Remember Our Heroes
Sgt. Clint Sikorski, a Wausau East grad, killed by vehicle at Fort Lewis Army base
East High graduate hit by vehicle while directing traffic
Wausau Daily Herald • October 22, 2008
FORT LEWIS, Wash. -- A 2005 Wausau East High School graduate and U.S. Army soldier was killed Friday when he was struck by a vehicle while stationed in the state of Washington.
Sgt. Clint Sikorski, 21, formerly of Wausau, was attempting to stop traffic at Fort Lewis when he was hit by a civilian vehicle driven by a soldier, according to a Fort Lewis public affairs statement. He was directing an Army truck to a nearby small-arms range when he was struck and killed.
He was stationed at the base since July 2007 as a member of the 1st Battalion, 377th Field Artillery Regiment, 17th Fires Brigade. He was a howitzer gunner.
"It was a nightmare. We're still in shock," his mother, Walline Sikorski of Wausau, said Tuesday from Washington, where she was joined by her brother from California and a daughter, with a second daughter preparing to join her today.
The incident occurred before 6 a.m. Friday, and Sikorski was taken to Madigan Army Medical Center, where he died later that day of his injuries, according to the statement.
Walline said her son became "gung ho" about the Army in high school and turned himself from "a roly-poly kid" into a man "with eight-pack, not six-pack abs," who led others with passion.
A soldier Walline Sikorski met in Washington since her son's death told her about a time when he had approached the higher ranking Sikorski about a marital problem. A few minutes later, Sikorski returned and had arranged a 10-day leave for the soldier.
"He wanted (the soldier) to fix his problem so he could be at his best when he returned," Walline said.
Sikorski married his wife, Wausau-area native Mandy Sikorski, in July 2007 after the two met in an Internet chat room while he was stationed in Korea.
No comments:
Post a Comment