Army Sgt. Anthony A. Paci

Died March 4, 2010 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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30, of Rockville, Md.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry, 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.; died March 4 in Gereshk, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered during a vehicle rollover.

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Lewis soldier dies in Afghanistan rollover

The Associated Press

ROCKVILLE, Md. — The Department of Defense said March 6 that a soldier died in Afghanistan earlier that week.

Spc. Anthony A. Paci, 30, of Rockville died March 4 in Afghanistan of injuries suffered during a vehicle rollover. Paci was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry, 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

Paci enlisted in October 2004. He deployed to Iraq from December 2005 to November 2006. Afghanistan was his second deployment.

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Fallen soldier remembered as ‘great dad’

The Associated Press

Anthony “Tony” Paci met his wife online in a military chat room while he was deployed in Iraq and knew even before they met in person that he wanted to marry her.

Paci married his wife, Erica, just two days after he returned to the U.S., said Paci’s mother, Helene Paci.

“They were two peas in a pod, soul mates,” she said. His brother, Nicholas Paci, said the soldier was a “fool in love” with Erica — and his children were “a constant source of joy.” The couple had three children, 2-year-old Judah, 1-year-old Tallulah and 3-month-old Mila.

Paci, 30, of Rockville, Md., died in a vehicle rollover March 4 in Gereshk, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Paci attended Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Md., where he enjoyed art and helping put on school plays. He ultimately dropped out in 1997, but earned his equivalency diploma in 1999.

The soldier also enjoyed being outdoors, canoeing and riding motorcycles, his mother said. His mother-in-law, Kathleen Severino, said Paci’s wife had bought him a motorcycle that we was excited to ride when he came home in June. But above all, Paci was a “great dad,” she said.

“Macho Army guy, but loving and caring and changing diapers.”