Wow

A guy from my hometown was killed by a mortar in Iraq. I can't believe it. I remember seeing him at parties (he was this enormous basketball player).

On the off chance that any of his friends or family ever reads this, I'm really really sorry.

Wow.

Capt. Eric Thomas Paliwoda had a busy year ahead of him.
There was a wedding to plan, a master's degree to earn and a teaching
position awaiting him after his return from Iraq.
"He was very excited. He'd be a wonderful teacher; he had a very
commanding presence," said his mother, Mary Paliwoda, from her home in
Goodyear, a western suburb of Phoenix.
He had been scheduled to return from Iraq this spring, but Paliwoda
died Friday when his command post came under a mortar attack in Balad,
about 50 miles northwest of Baghdad, according to the military.
The 28-year-old had been in Iraq for nine months and was scheduled to
return from the Middle East in April.
He and his fiance, Wendy Rosen, planned a June wedding, said his
father, Alfred Paliwoda. Rosen, who lives in New York, and Paliwoda's
mother were in contact regularly, talking on the phone about plans for
the wedding.
Once he was back, Paliwoda also planned to go into teaching, like his
mother, who works for a nearby school district. The soldier was going
to earn his master's degree and then teach at his alma mater, West
Point, Mary Paliwoda said.
"He was a very intelligent, outgoing, happy, life of the party kind of
guy," she said.
Paliwoda grew up in Farmington, Conn., and was a standout basketball
player at Conard High School in West Hartford, said his parents, who
now split their time between homes in Sedona and Goodyear.
Many universities sought the 6-foot-7 player, and he chose to attend
West Point, said Mary Paliwoda.
An avid outdoorsman who enjoyed fishing, play tennis, golfing and
hiking, Paliwoda combined his interests by majoring in environmental
studies and minoring in engineering.
At the prestigious military college, Paliwoda also excelled in
basketball and, like his father, was a hammer thrower, Mary Paliwoda
said.
"Originally, he did go there to play basketball. But he was always
willing to devote himself for our country," Mary Paliwoda said.
Paliwoda graduated from West Point in 1997 and was later stationed at
Fort Hood in Texas. He arrived at Fort Carson in Colorado in April 2001
and was assigned to the 4th Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat
Team, 4th Infantry Division, said post spokeswoman Sgt. Doraine McNutt.
In an effort to better understand his new surroundings and the people
in it, he asked his parents to mail him books about Iraqi culture, Mary
Paliwoda said. An engineer for the Army, Paliwoda spent time
negotiating with Iraqi tribal leaders.
"At one point he said he felt like the mayor of the town," she said.
The attack in which he died happened when insurgents hit a U.S. base
with shells. Six people were detained for questioning, the Army said.
He is the 34th soldier attached to Fort Carson to be killed in Iraq,
officials said.
In addition to his parents, Paliwoda is survived by a sister, Allison
Choka.
Services were scheduled for Monday at Old Cadet Chapel in West Point,
where he will be buried.

Posted by flow Frazao on January 7, 2004 at 04:54 PM | Permalink