Army Staff Sgt. Andrew R. Pokorny

Died June 13, 2003 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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30, of Naperville, Ill.; assigned to 3rd Air Defense Artillery, 3rd Armor Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.; died June 13 in a vehicle accident in Asad, Iraq. On the way back from patrol, Pokorny’s M113 armored personnel carrier threw a track and went over a 4-foot drop-off on the side of the road, causing the vehicle to roll over.

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Andrew Pokorny joined the Army at 17, fresh out of high school, and began his career as a mechanic. He met his wife, a former administrative specialist for the Army, while stationed in Germany.

He served six months as a mechanic with the Army Rangers in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1992.

“He just loved the camaraderie. He loved being with other soldiers, the soldiers who were under him. Everything about them came first,” said his wife, Martha Pokorny, who lives with the couple’s three children at Fort Carson, Colo., where Pokorny was based.

Pokorny’s sister, Barbara Bonnet, said while Andrew worried about his troops, the family worried about him. However, she said she understood her brother’s commitment to his job.

“We knew how he felt about it,” Bonnet said. “This was his thing. He was proud to be doing it. He was ready to get down there and do it and do it right.”