Army Pfc. Leonard J. Gulczynski I

Died September 17, 2008 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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19, of Carol Stream, Ill.; assigned to the 610th Engineer Support Company, 14th Engineer Battalion, 555th Engineer Brigade, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Sept. 17 in Baghdad of injuries sustained when his vehicle was involved in an accident.

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Family recalls private who died in Iraq

The Associated Press

Though Pfc. Leonard J. Gulczynski loved football, it was on the volleyball court where he truly shone, coaches and teammates said.

“He was a middle hitter, a good blocker with a build for the game,” said teammate Craig Damm. “He always played with heart.”

Gulczynski, 19, of Carol Stream, Ill., died Sept. 17 in Baghdad of injuries suffered in a vehicle accident. He was a 2007 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Lewis.

His father, Mike, said he and his father had always been proud of their own Army background, and they couldn’t help feeling somehow responsible for Leonard’s enlistment. “But I showed my dad the pictures that he sent, and he had a smile on his face,” he said. “He liked being a soldier.”

The loss left family members in tears. “I just think about how my daughter, Jennifer, and Lenny used to watch ‘Sesame Street’ as kids,” said Lenny’s aunt, Judy Petrosky. “There were all those monster characters on ‘Sesame Street’ so I called him Lenny monster. Ever since then, he’s been Lenny monster.”

“My Lenny monster’s not here anymore,” Petrosky added.

He also is survived by his mother, Jackie.