Army Staff Sgt. Dain T. Venne

Died November 3, 2012 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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29, of Port Henry, N.Y., assigned to 178th Engineer Battalion, 412th Theater Engineer Command, U.S. Army Reserve, Oswego, N.Y.; died Nov. 3 of wounds caused by an improvised explosive device in Paktia province, Afghanistan. Spc. Ryan P. Jayne and Spc. Brett E. Gornewicz were also killed in the incident.

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Funeral set for soldier killed in Afghanistan

The Associated Press

PORT HENRY, N.Y. — A funeral service is set for another of the three Army Reservists from upstate New York killed in a roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan.

The Plattsburgh Press-Republican reported that the funeral for 29-year-old Staff Sgt. Dain Venne of Port Henry will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in his hometown.

He was killed along with fellow combat engineers 27-year-old Spc. Brett E. Gornewicz of Alden and 22-year-old Spc. Ryan Jayne of Campbell while conducting route-clearing duties in Paktiya province on Nov. 3.

They were members of the Watertown-based 479th Engineering Battalion of the 411th Engineering Brigade in New Windsor.

Jayne's funeral will be Wednesday in Corning. The funeral for Gornewicz was Monday.

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Funeral held for soldier killed in Afghanistan

The Associated Press

PORT HENRY, N.Y. — The high school football team knelt with helmets under arms on Tuesday as a funeral procession passed for one of three Army Reservists from upstate New York killed in a roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan.

More than 500 people attended the funeral of 29-year-old Staff Sgt. Dain Venne of Port Henry in his hometown, the Plattsburgh Press-Republican reported. The Rev. Albert Hauser celebrated the funeral Mass at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, where he praised the volunteer coach for his humility and compassion for others.

So many people attended the funeral that an overflow area was set up at a church two blocks away, with a closed-circuit television feed of the service.

Venne was killed along with fellow combat engineers 27-year-old Spc. Brett Gornewicz of Alden and 22-year-old Spc. Ryan Jayne of Campbell while conducting route-clearing duties in Paktiya province on Nov. 3. They were in the Watertown-based 479th Engineering Battalion of the 411th Engineering Brigade in New Windsor.

"Dain was a wonderful young man," Moriah Town Supervisor Thomas Scozzafava said before entering the church. "This is a terrible tragedy for his family and for the community."

A giant American flag flew from the extended ladder of a fire truck on Main Street during the funeral.

Friends said Venne loved to hunt, fish and ride his motorcycle. He attended Plattsburgh State, St. Lawrence University and Clinton Community College. He enlisted in the Army shortly after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Between deployments, he worked for Kubricky Construction of Glens Falls and was a member of the Port Henry Fire Department.

James Lindgren, a professor at Plattsburgh State who was one of Venne's instructors as well as his adviser, remembered Venne as "a kind and gentle presence, in the classroom and out."

Venne was buried with full military honors in St. Patrick's Catholic Cemetery in Moriah, where a contingent of soldiers from Fort Drum gave him a 21-gun salute.
Jayne's funeral will be Wednesday in Corning. Gornewicz's funeral was Monday.