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- The People Behind The Sacrifice
Army Spc. Stanley J. Sokolowski III
Died May 20, 2010 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom
26, of Ocean, N.J.; assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas; died May 20 in Kirkuk, Iraq, in a noncombat-related incident.
NJ soldier killed in Iraq
The Associated Press
OCEAN TOWNSHIP, N.J. — A 26-year-old soldier from New Jersey has died of injuries incurred in a noncombat-related incident in Iraq.
A Pentagon statement says Spc. Stanley J. Sokolowski of Ocean Township died in Kirkuk. The statement contains no information on the nature of the incident.
Sokolowski was assigned to Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.
Sokolowski graduated from Ocean Township High School in 2002 and was a volunteer firefighter and rescue squad member.
His mother, Christie, said her son joined the Army in 2007 and hoped to become a professional firefighter after his discharge. He was on his second tour in Iraq.
He is survived by his mother, father and two brothers.
Joined Army after going to Iraq in civilian capacity
The Associated Press
Stanley Sokolowski had a clear goal in life: to be a professional firefighter.
Starting as a teenager, he volunteered for several fire, first aid and lifeguard squads in the Ocean, N.J., area and worked briefly at the local animal hospital.
He was a “humanitarian and someone who always fought for justice,” said his mother, Christie Sokolowski.
Sokolowski believed that military service would better qualify him for his career fighting fires. In 2006, he went to Iraq as a civilian emergency responder. The next year, he joined the Army.
Sokolowski, 26, was serving in Kirkuk, Iraq, on May 20 when he died of injuries unrelated to combat. The Army is investigating. He was assigned to Fort Bliss, Texas.
Sokolowski graduated from Ocean Township High School in 2002. He enjoyed reading history and was a hobbyist archer.
Solomon Hicks, an assistant fire captain who worked with Sokolowski, said his young colleague loved music and was a vegan, for which he took plenty of guff.
He also is survived by his father, Stanley Sokolowski II, two brothers and two sisters.