Sgt. Duane Dreasky, RIP: Terrorist IED’s Brave Victim Fought for Months to Live

Sgt. Duane Dreasky, RIP: Terrorist IED’s Brave Victim Fought for Months to Live

He was in Iraq because, although he finished a year-long tour of duty guarding prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, he volunteered to go. He could have remained safely in Michigan as a recruiter, where he was assigned.

Sadly, he died Monday at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, after fighting to live for eight months. He was 31 years old. Details from one of two touching pieces by The Detroit News’ only decent reporter, Edward Cardenas:

Wounded War Vet Duane Dreasky w/ Bush, Before Injuries

“He went out with so much dignity,” his wife, Mandeline Dreasky, said Tuesday.
“He fought and defied death four times. We had hoped that he would make it.”

He had been living a life-long dream of serving his country when the Humvee in which he was riding near al-Habbaniyah, Iraq, was hit by an improvised explosive device on Nov. 21, 2005.

Sgt. Duane Dreasky & Wife/Fellow Soldier Mandeline

Even though he passed from this world, Dreasky is a symbol of the determination, struggle, and will to survive of all our brave men who are protecting our freedom. When he was alive and in tremendous pain, Dreasky and his wife thought of others, setting up a foundation for scholarships for special needs kids to attend the Special Olympics and for others to pursue medical careers–the address of which is above.

Read both of Edward Cardenas’ moving pieces–here and here–about Duane Dreasky.
More on Duane Dreasky, from the October 15, 2005 issue of The Iron Soldier (Official Newsletter of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, Al-Anbar Province, Iraq):

Although he recently finished a year long stint in Guantanamo, Cuba guarding detainees, Sgt. Dreasky volunteered for duty in Iraq.

Dreasky utilized his professional expertise to create panoramic views of terrain sketches at all guard towers occupied by his platoon. He also used his initiative to take digital photos with a new picture system. The pictures he took were used to create a targeted mission and check out suspicious activity.

Sgt. Duane J. Dreasky epitomizes the Army values and lives by the Warrior Ethos. His leadership, attention to detail, and professionalism is a credit to himself and the Michigan Army National Guard.

Sgt. Dreasky is married to another outstanding Soldier from the Michigan Army National Guard, and a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Mandy Dreasky is a former Sgt. 1st Class from the 1775th Military Police Company. She was wounded in action while serving
during OIF 03.

Sgt. Duane Dreasky, American Hero, Rest In Peace. May God Bless You.

July 28, 2006, - 6:42 pm

American Hero’s Last Good-Bye: Sgt. Duane Dreasky Goes to Arlington

Dreasky wasn’t even supposed to be in Iraq because after a year as a guard in Guantanamo Bay, he was assigned to be a recruiter in Michigan. But he volunteered to go.

They remembered Staff Sgt. Duane J. Dreasky’s gung-ho attitude, how he was proud of the sharp, starched lines of his uniform and his spit-shined boots. They chuckled over how he once turned off the hot water to a friend’s shower as a practical joke. How he made a cake out of Twinkies and Ho Hos for a birthday celebration.

Most of all, members of Michigan National Guard Company B, 125th Infantry remembered Dreasky as a fighter . . . .

“Even though I was his leader, he had qualities I wanted to have,” said Staff Sgt. Keenon Wallace, who supervised Dreasky during an earlier deployment to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. “He wasn’t ‘like’ my brother. He WAS my brother.” . . .

“If I had an army (of soldiers) like him, I wouldn’t have a job to do,” said Sgt. Maj. Dan Lincoln, whom Dreasky begged for a spot on deployments to Cuba and then to Iraq. . . .
Staff Sgt. Tom Barrett, 25, of Kalamazoo became close friends with Dreasky while they roomed together in Cuba. . . .

“There wasn’t one thing he did poorly as a soldier,” said Barrett. “Here he is, a National Guard soldier who’s supposed to work one weekend a month and two weeks a year, and he would constantly volunteer to serve.”

Staff Sgt. Duane Dreasky

From the Detroit Free Press:

Maj. Gen. Tom Cutler of the Michigan Army National Guard [said] “America just lost an outstanding young person.” . . .

Staff Sgt. Rob Witgen, 39, of Williamston served with Dreasky in Cuba and Iraq. Witgen was not surprised when Dreasky fought to live, for so many months, enduring so much pain while showing so much dignity and class. . . . “He was the epitome of a soldier,” Witgen said. “He was a fighter. His body gave out before his will.”

Staff Sgt. Duane Dreasky, American Hero, Rest in Peace.


Sgt. Alkaila T. Floyd



Hometown: Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.

Age: 23 years old

Died: July 13, 2006 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Unit: Army, 54th Engineer Battalion, 130th Engineer Brigade, Bamberg, Germany

Incident: Died in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries sustained on July 8 when a makeshift bomb exploded near his Mine Protected Vehicle in Ramadi.

Staff Sgt. Michael A. Dickinson II



Hometown: Battle Creek, Michigan, U.S.

Age: 26 years old

Died: July 17, 2006 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Unit: Army, 9th Psychological Operations Battalion, 4th Psychological Operations Group, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Incident: Killed when his dismounted patrol encountered enemy forces small arms fire in Ramadi.

Michael A. Dickinson

Thursday, July 20 2006 @ 04:13 AM MDT Contributed by: River97 Battle Creek Enquirer -- After three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Army Staff Sgt. Michael A. Dickinson II of Battle Creek was preparing to leave the war. "He told me he was on his last mission and he would be home," Dickinson's mother, Vicki Dickinson said Tuesday, a day after her son was killed by a sniper in Ramadi, Iraq. "But he's not supposed to come home like this." Dickinson was with a Marine Corps patrol when the sniper killed him and wounded another soldier, his family was told. He was one of three American soldiers killed in separate attacks on Monday. The other two died in Baghdad. A member of the 4th Psychological Operations Group from Fort Bragg, N.C., Dickinson was scheduled to leave Iraq by the end of the month. He was packing and training his replacement. He wanted to continue his studies to be a physician's assistant and work in a clinic in his wife's native home of Puerto Rico. Now his mother and other members of his family in Battle Creek are preparing to travel to Fort Bragg to join Dickinson's wife, Glorygrace, their daughter, Abigail, 2, and his wife's four children for a memorial service Thursday. Local services are not yet scheduled. A 1998 graduate of Harper Creek High School, Dickinson and his adopted brother, Darrell Morris, decided in the 11th grade they wanted to join the Army, following his late father and both grandfathers, who were in the military. "He came from a long line of fighters," his mother said, "and he believed in his country. He left for the service one month after graduation." Even as youngsters, the brothers awoke at 3 a.m. for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and milk so they would grow and be ready for the Army. Dickinson had been working in the relatively safe area of Fallujah, his family said, but was concerned about some members of his unit in Ramadi and volunteered two or three months ago to transfer there. Ramadi, which has more than 400,000 residents and is described as one of Iraq's most violent cities, has roadside bombings and gunbattles every day. U.S. patrols have been confined to small sections of the city, and tribal leaders who have cooperated with U.S. forces have been assassinated or forced to flee the country, according to the Associated Press. "He was safe but he felt they needed him and he was going to be with them," his sister, Carmen, 27, said. "He volunteered because he was confident he could bring those boys home," his mother said. Michael Dickinson felt it was his job to make sure everyone returned from the mission and that was true even on the mission where he died, family members said. "The Marines really respected Michael," his mother said. "The men cared about him and they said they will find the sniper who shot him. He died a hero." Carmen Dickinson said she watched her brother mature while in the military even as she remembers wrestling with her brother when they were children growing up on Vale Street, where Vicki Dickinson still lives. "I used to kick his butt," she said. "I would pulverize him and then I would run." Later, she saw him developing principles. When she snuck out of the house late at night, Michael informed their mother. "He felt obligated to tell," she said, "because he was worried about me being on the streets and he felt what he was doing was right." In school, Dickinson wasn't the best student. "He was smart but he didn't like school," Carmen Dickinson said. "His life was social, he slid by." "He believed in doing his homework," his mother said, "but not in turning it in." Active in football and basketball and in the band, Dickinson is pictured in his high school yearbook wearing a football jersey, a gold chain and his signature smile. Al Miller, principal of Harper Creek High School during the 1997-98 and 1998-99 school years, remembers Dickinson's grin. "He was always friendly and outgoing," said Miller, who currently serves on Harper Creek's school board. "He had a positive attitude and always dealt with people in a mature and positive way. He was admired and respected by both staff and students." In another yearbook photo, Dickinson is featured with fellow student Shannon Hill while participating in the school's annual holiday project, in which students donated their time, food, money, clothes and toys to help 25 Harper Creek families during the holidays. Miller said Dickinson would come back to the school and visit after graduation. The two would engage in casual conversation. Michael Nauss, assistant superintendent of Harper Creek Community Schools, said Tuesday he spoke with Vicki Dickinson and offered condolences on behalf of the Harper Creek educational community. "As a district, we work to develop responsible citizens of a global society," Nauss said. "Michael's service to our country is an honorable example of what it truly means to be a responsible citizen." It was in high school that Dickinson began spending time with his best friend, Jason Feasel. "I considered him my brother," Feasel said Tuesday at his Springfield business. "I have known him since seventh grade but we started hanging out our freshman year. We did everything together. When you click with someone you just click with them. He was easy to get along with and he was a great guy. "He would do anything for anyone just like he did for his country." Feasel was paralyzed in a motorcycle accident in July 2003 and, when Dickinson returned from Iraq that month, the first stop was Feasel's hospital room. "It meant a lot to see him coming through he door," Feasel said. "He had just bought a DVD player and he said, 'Hey man, you got a better use for this.' And I watched a ton of DVDs. He would give you the shirt off his back." Feasel talked to Dickinson on Thursday. "He was telling me the place he was at was crazy and he was so happy to come back home. He was talking about his daughter and he had pictures to send me but he I didn't get those pictures." Feasel also watched his friend mature and become a family man. "I lost my best friend. It's a killer. But I am glad I got to be part of his life and I am glad he got to be part of mine." Dickinson didn't tell his family much about the war or his job. "We didn't understand how much danger he was in," Carmen Dickinson said. "He didn't talk about things over there." "But he supported the military," Vicki Dickinson said. "What they asked of him was what he was going to do. It was his job and he was going to do his job." She said people should remember her son as someone who was caring and "who took his responsibility in life seriously and wanted to do nothing but good." "And what is more patriotic than giving your life for your country willingly. He thought he was needed so he answered the call. I am very proud of my son."