Remembering CPT Douglas DiCenzo ~ NH Hero

Remembering CPT Douglas DiCenzo, husband, father, son, brother and friend, was killed in action on May 25th, 2006 serving during the War in Iraq. Doug was company commander for C Company in the 1st Armored Division 2nd Brigade based in Baumholder, Germany.

Doug was born and raised in Plymouth, NH. During his years at Plymouth Regional High School, Doug was a natural leader, excelling both in the classroom and on the athletic field. DiCenzo was president of the Plymouth Class of 1995, and captain of the football and wrestling teams. With the help of his younger brother Dan, he led the Bobcat football team to the state championship in his senior year. He also was a school board representative from the high school and was a member of the National Honor Society.

After high school, Doug attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, fulfilling a long time interest in the Army and service for his country. Upon graduation, Doug continued post-graduation training in Georgia, where we had the great fortune to meet a young woman from Tennessee named Nicole. It was love at first sight, and after a courtship that included moving to Fairbanks, Alaska together, Doug & Nicole were married.

Three years after arriving in Alaska, Doug and Nicole were on the move again, this time overseas to Germany. They soon picked up another member of the family when their son, Dakin Mark DiCenzo, was born in 2004. Doug, Nicole and Dak had a wonderful life together in Germany, often getting outside of the confines of the base to explore the outdoors in typical Doug style.

Throughout his life, Doug was an avid outdoorsman, enjoying hiking, hunting and skiing. The Captain Douglas DiCenzo Camp Fund was established to help give others the opportunity to pursue the activities that Doug loved himself.

To Remember is to Honor…

Remembering PFC Nicholas Cournoyer ~ NH Hero

Remembering PFC Nicholas Cournoyer – KIA 5/18/06 when an IED detonated near his Humvee during combat operations in Baghdad. Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division

Before enlisting, he worked as a mason’s assistant in the Laconia, NH area. He bought a truck that he had fixed up and paid off. He planned to buy a Harley-Davidson after his tour ended.

Spc. David S. Stelmat 22 Mar 2008 ~ Iraq

Maryanne Rennell  with the Honor and Remember flag for her son, Spc. David S. Stelmat 22 Mar 2008 ~ Iraq

Presented April 27, 2014 NH Gold Star Mother Day

 

 

Remembering and Honoring LCpl “PJ” Sora ~ NH Hero

Remembering and honoring LCpl “PJ” Sora – Killed 5-4-04

Following is from his dad, Peter:

“PJ was a LCPL in the Marine Corps, and was tragically killed in a HUMVEE roll over at 29 Palms, California, while preparing for deployment to Iraq with his weapons company.
I not sure most Americans are aware of how many of our service members are killed each year as a result of training exercises or non hostile circumstances. I do know this… PJ was an exemplary Marine who had many options in life, but chose the Marine Corps, and volunteered for assignment to a weapons company 3/5 that was headed to Fallujah in the fall of 2004. Even though he never made it to Iraq, he gave his life at age 19 in the battle against terrorism just as surely as if Osama Bin Laden had shot him.
I miss him beyond words, and I promise him each week when I visit his gravesite (NH Vets Cemetery), that I will keep his memory alive as best I can.”

PJ loved all types of music. He was captain of the Londonderry High Wrestling Team. He was also a 1st degree Black Belt. Despite showing toughness as a wrestler and a Marine, he was a pensive and sensitive young man who loved his young nephews and nieces.

This is from his sister, Melissa “I am so grateful for the years we had, your wisdom, kindness, generous sole, the hero you were and so much more. Miss you every day PJ. So grateful for being blessed with you and to have you as my brother. Thank you for letting me know you are near through my kid’s eyes and actions every day. You are always with us! Love you!!

To remember is to honor….

 

Remembering and Honoring LCpl Robert Moscillo ~ NH Hero

Remembering and honoring LCpl Robert Moscillo, 21 he was KIA on 5-1-06 by a roadside bomb. He was assigned to 1st Combat Engineers, 1st Marine Division, Bravo Company based at Camp Pendleton.

Bobby, to his family, was a 2003 Salem High School graduate and a member of the wrestling team who enjoyed staying as active as possible. He was a sports fanatic and kept a good grade point average and planned to go to college to become a pastor. His teachers remember him as “the kind of boy who tried hard all the time”.

He joined the Marines in 2005 to serve his country and was a machine gunner in his unit charged with detecting land mines. He had planned to make a career out of the military.

He was nicknamed “The Chaplin” at boot camp. He prayed with other Marines and sometimes persuaded them to go to church with him and his grandmother. He wanted to become a pastor and thought the Marines could help him afford seminary school.

Bobby was a son, brother, friend and most of all a father figure to his five siblings. He was close to his cousins and was known for always being protective of his siblings and cousins. Family members said he was not just the stern man seen in his Marine dress photo, but a likable, fun-loving character who served as a good role model to his younger relatives.

As a child Bobby liked G.I. Joe action figures, even dressing up like one for Halloween.

His family learned of Bobby’s death almost 30 years after the death of his uncle, Robert L. Moscillo, for whom he is named, who died returning home from Navy service during the Vietnam War in 1976.

TO REMEMBER IS TO HONOR…