Army Sgt. Keith T. Buzinski

Died April 7, 2011 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

---

26, of Daytona Beach, Fla.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk, La.; died April 7 at FOB Shank, Afghanistan of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with small-arms fire.

* * * * *

Polk soldiers die in separate Afghanistan incidents

Alexandria (La.) Daily Town Talk

Two Fort Polk soldiers have died from wounds suffered in combat in Afghanistan.

The victims were Pfc. Brandon T. Pickering and Sgt. Keith T. Buzinski were part of the 4th Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, which is taking part in Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

Pickering, 21, was an infantryman from Fort Thomas, Ky., assigned to 1st Platoon, Company C, 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division’s Task Force Warrior. He was posthumously promoted to private first class. He had been based at Fort Polk since April 2010.

Buzinski, 26, of Daytona Beach, Fla., was an infantryman in the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. He had been stationed at Fort Polk since September 2009.

Buzinski, who was posthumously promoted to sergeant, was killed in Logar province April 7 during an attack on his unit with firearms in Logar province, the Army reported.

He previously had served a tour of duty in Iraq, from September 2007 to November 2008.

His awards include Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Army Service Ribbon, Valorous Unit Award, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, two Overseas Service Ribbons and NATO Medal.

Pickering, whose nickname was “Pick,” died April 10 in a hospital in Germany after being wounded in Wardak province in Afghanistan two days earlier in an attack from combatants using firearms and a rocket-propelled grenade, the Department of Defense reported.

Among Pickering’s awards were Purple Heart, Bronze Star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Army Service Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon, Army Good Conduct Medal, NATO Medal and Combat Infantryman Badge.

Ten members of the 10th Mountain Division troops stationed at Fort Polk have been killed since soldiers from the division deployed to Afghanistan in October, officials reported.

* * * * *

 

Infantryman laid to rest in New Jersey

The Associated Press

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. — A soldier who grew up in New Jersey and was killed in combat in Afghanistan has been laid to rest.

A private funeral service was held April 19 for Sgt. Keith Buzinski at United Presbyterian Church in Hamilton.

Hamilton police and motorcyclists from the Warrior Watch and Patriot Guard then escorted the hearse carrying his body to Brig. Gen. William C. Doyle Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Burlington County.

The 26-year-old 10th Mountain Division infantryman died April 7 of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with small arms fire in Logar Province.

Gail Mindlin, who taught Buzinski in elementary school, told The Times of Trenton that family members offered eulogies saying that Buzinski found a sense of purpose on joining the military five years ago.