Army Staff Sgt. Edward Karolasz

Died November 19, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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25, of Kearny, N.J.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.; killed Nov. 19 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during combat operations in Bayji, Iraq. Also killed were 1st Lt. Dennis W. Zilinski, Cpl. Jonathan F. Blair, and Spc. Dominic J. Hinton.

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Flags fly at half-staff for slain N.J. soldier

The Associated Press

TRENTON, N.J. — Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey ordered flags to be flown at half-staff Dec. 3 in honor of a soldier from Kearny who died in Iraq.

Staff Sgt. Edward Karolasz was killed Nov. 19 when a bomb detonated near his Humvee during combat operations. He was among five 101st Airborne Division soldiers, two of them from New Jersey, killed by roadside bombings in Iraq that weekend.

“Staff Sgt. Edward Karolasz served his country proudly and has made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty,” Codey said. “We honor his life by flying the national and state flags at half-staff.”

Karolasz, 25, enlisted shortly after graduating high school and had always dreamed of joining the military while he was growing up, his relatives told several newspapers in New Jersey.

He was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division’s 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, based in Fort Campbell, Ky.

Army 1st Lt. Dennis W. Zilinski II, of Howell, also was killed in the bombing. Codey had flags fly at half-staff for him Nov. 30.