Army 2nd Lt. Mark J. Procopio

Died November 2, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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28, of Stowe, Vt.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment, Vermont Army National Guard, Jericho, Vt.; killed Nov. 2 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during combat operations in Ramadi, Iraq.

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Guard member remembered for dedication to duty

By Wilson Ring

The Associated Press

BURLINGTON, Vt. — The last time Christopher Carbone saw Mark Procopio was the night before Carbone was wounded in a roadside bomb attack in Iraq where they were both serving with the Vermont National Guard.

The two men, both lieutenants, were platoon commanders in Alpha Company, 3rd Battalion, 172nd Mountain Infantry, serving in Ramadi, one of the most dangerous cities in Iraq.

As Procopio got up to leave the table where they were having dinner, he turned and said to Carbone, “ ‘We just gotta keep doing what we’re doing.’ And he gave me a smile and walked away,” Carbone said Nov. 12. “I was just never able to say goodbye.”

On Nov. 12 Carbone got to say goodbye. He spoke at the funeral for 2nd Lt. Mark Procopio, the Burlington native killed in Iraq on Nov. 2 when an improvised explosive device exploded near the Humvee he was riding in.

Carbone, a first lieutenant, was on his second tour in Iraq when he was wounded several days before Procopio was killed. He used crutches to walk to the stage at the Ira Allen Chapel at the University of Vermont and had help climbing the stairs.

At their last dinner Carbone and Procopio spoke of Lt. Mark Dooley, who was killed Sept. 19, Carbone said. Dooley was also killed by a roadside bomb.

“I am the last of three platoon leaders from Alpha Company,” Carbone said, choking back tears. “I just want you to know they will not be forgotten. As long as there is life in my body I will not forget them.”

Carbone is recovering from injuries to a leg and his face. Guard officials say he is hoping to recover enough to rejoin his unit in Iraq.

Procopio, the son of a retired Vermont National Guard colonel, was the 19th service member with Vermont ties to die in Iraq. Another Vermont service member died of natural causes in Kuwait.

Procopio was the fourth Vermont soldier to die in Ramadi since the unit arrived there in July.

Procopio was remembered Saturday for his devotion to his family, and, once he became focused on a military career, his duty.

“He would be upset if we didn’t have the resolution to look forward and carry on,” said his uncle, Stephen LaTulippe.

Procopio’s widow, Erika, is also a Vermont National Guard officer. She was serving in Kuwait when her husband was killed. She returned to Vermont. Her unit, Task Force Green Mountain, is due to leave Kuwait in the next several weeks. She does not have to go back.

Carbone, who came back a year ago after serving another tour in Iraq, volunteered to join Task Force Saber. He joined the unit shortly before it left the U.S. for Iraq.

Carbone said he was nervous about joining the unit he was to lead. But Procopio helped him through it.

“He bolstered me up,” Carbone said. “He gave me strength, the ability to do what I had to do.”