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We Honor and Remember:
Spc. Philip I. Spakosky
Hometown: Browns Mills, New Jersey, U.S. Age: 25 years old. Died: May 14, 2004 in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Unit: Army, 1st Battalion, 37th Armor, 1st Armored Division, Friedberg, Germany. Birth: May 9, 1979, Marlton, Burlington County, New Jersey. Burial: Brig. Gen. Wm. C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery Wrightstown, Burlington County, New Jersey, USA Plot: Columbarium G Plot 1001 Spec. Philip I. Spakosky, the second Pemberton Township High School graduate killed in the war in Iraq, was an "all-American" who joined the Army in hopes of getting a higher education, his father-in-law said yesterday. Spakosky's wife of two years, Lakisha; their daughter, Mariah, 3; and his stepchildren, Ajohn, 6, and Imani, 7, remained in Germany, where the soldier's unit was based in Friedberg before deploying to Iraq a year ago. Funeral arrangements were not complete, but a memorial service was expected to be held in Germany, followed by a local one sometime next week, said Floyd Grant, Spakosky's father-in-law. "He was an all-American great guy," Grant said. "The four or five years I have known him, I can't say anything bad about him. Just a great guy." Spakosky, of Browns Mills, joined the Army in January 2002 with the aim of getting an education under the GI Bill, said Grant, also of Browns Mills. Spakosky, 25, was an M-1 tank crewman assigned to the First Battalion, 37th Armor Regiment, First Armored Division. Nicknamed the "Bandits," the regiment deployed to Iraq last May. It is among the units that planned to leave at the end of April but were ordered to extend their tours of duty. In recent days, First Armored Division troops have been fighting militiamen loyal to Shiite clergyman Muqtada al-Sadr in Karbala, where Spakosky was shot by a sniper Thursday. Spakosky graduated from Pemberton Township High School in 1997, and teachers there described him as a quiet, hardworking student. Another member of the class, Army Spec. Ryan Travis Baker, 24, was killed in November when two Black Hawk helicopters collided in Iraq. |
PEMBERTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Residents of this town adjacent to Fort Dix and McGuire Air Force Base are mourning the second member of the Pemberton Township High School class of 1997 to die in Iraq. Spc. Philip I. Spakosky, 25, an Army tank crewman, was killed by a sniper’s bullet during fighting in Karbala, the site of an uprising by a Shiite militia, the Pentagon said. Spakosky was shot Thursday and died from his wound a day later.
Fellow 1997 Pemberton graduate Spc. Ryan Travis Baker, an Army helicopter crew chief, died in November when two Black Hawk helicopters collided over Mosul in northern Iraq.“They are our children over there and it’s a shame we have to lose someone so close to home,” said Barbara Craddock, who lives next door to Spakosky’s mother, Lisa Good. “When I heard about (Philip), I just cried. It was like I lost one of my own children.”
Pemberton High spokesman Tom Bauer said about 15 percent of the high school’s graduates enter the military each year. The school planned a moment of silence Tuesday.“This makes us focus on what’s going on over there and escalation in the deaths,” Bauer said. “We are surrounded by Fort Dix and McGuire and are deeply saddened by this and the number of our students from our school that are over there.
“This is the second time this (school) year this has happened. It’s a tragedy.”
Friends and colleagues remembered Spakosky, who resided in the township’s Browns Mills section, as a quiet, cooperative young man who participated in the school’s business co-op program during his senior year, attending classes during the morning and working at the Pemberton Township Police Department in the afternoon.
“He was very dependable,” said Lt. Robert Lewandowski. “Sometimes you get kids that tend to talk a lot and not do the work. He was a very good kid.”
Spakosky was assigned to the Army’s 1st Battalion, 37th Armor, 1st Armored Division, based in Friedberg, Germany. The division began its service in Iraq a little over a year ago. He enlisted in the Army in January 2002 and completed basic training at Fort Knox, Ky., the Pentagon said.
Fellow 1997 Pemberton graduate Spc. Ryan Travis Baker, an Army helicopter crew chief, died in November when two Black Hawk helicopters collided over Mosul in northern Iraq.“They are our children over there and it’s a shame we have to lose someone so close to home,” said Barbara Craddock, who lives next door to Spakosky’s mother, Lisa Good. “When I heard about (Philip), I just cried. It was like I lost one of my own children.”
Pemberton High spokesman Tom Bauer said about 15 percent of the high school’s graduates enter the military each year. The school planned a moment of silence Tuesday.“This makes us focus on what’s going on over there and escalation in the deaths,” Bauer said. “We are surrounded by Fort Dix and McGuire and are deeply saddened by this and the number of our students from our school that are over there.
“This is the second time this (school) year this has happened. It’s a tragedy.”
Friends and colleagues remembered Spakosky, who resided in the township’s Browns Mills section, as a quiet, cooperative young man who participated in the school’s business co-op program during his senior year, attending classes during the morning and working at the Pemberton Township Police Department in the afternoon.
“He was very dependable,” said Lt. Robert Lewandowski. “Sometimes you get kids that tend to talk a lot and not do the work. He was a very good kid.”
Spakosky was assigned to the Army’s 1st Battalion, 37th Armor, 1st Armored Division, based in Friedberg, Germany. The division began its service in Iraq a little over a year ago. He enlisted in the Army in January 2002 and completed basic training at Fort Knox, Ky., the Pentagon said.
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