Marine Lance Cpl. Travis M. Wichlacz

Died February 5, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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22, of West Bend, Wis.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve, Milwaukee, Wis.; killed Feb. 5 by enemy action in Babil province, Iraq.

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West Bend Marine killed in Iraq

Associated Press

WEST BEND, Wis. — A 22-year-old Marine from West Bend who was killed in Iraq during the weekend had been excited about going there, his high school wrestling coach said.

“He was pretty proud of it. He took his job pretty seriously over there,” Bob Kopecky said of Lance Cpl. Travis M. Wichlacz, a 2002 graduate of West Bend West High School.

“He was a pretty tough person. He was competitive. He wasn’t afraid of anyone.”

The rifleman died Saturday in a bomb explosion in Babil province, the U.S. Defense Department said.

He was assigned to the Milwaukee-based Fox Company of the Marine Reserves’ 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, of Chicago, and he had been serving in Iraq since June 2004, the agency said.

Several other Marines were injured in the attack, said Sgt. Cecil Goodloe, a spokesman for Wichlacz’s unit.

Goodloe said Wichlacz had “helped support getting the region stabilized for elections.”

The 33rd death of a Wisconsin soldier in Iraq came barely nine months after Wichlacz was married to Angela Coakley, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Coakley, a former West Bend resident, left Wisconsin for active duty with the Army in Norfolk, Va., four days after their wedding in May, said Wichlacz’s stepmother, Virginia Wichlacz.

Travis Wichlacz, a Marine reservist, reported for Marine Corps infantry training in San Diego two weeks later.

“They hardly had any time together,” Virginia Wichlacz said Monday.

Travis’ father, Dennis Wichlacz, said his son loved being a Marine and had considered a military career

“He always tried so hard to make everyone proud of him,” Dennis Wichlacz. “He was nothing but good. He just tried so hard to follow the rules.”

Virginia Wichlacz remembered her stepson as being extraordinarily brave.

“He was kicking down doors. They were going into the houses and finding weapons caches and dismantling the bombs,” she said.

West principal Pat Gardon said Wichlacz, who had participated in football and track as well as wrestling at the school, returned several times after joining the Marines to visit with teachers and other staff members.

“He was very, very proud of the uniform that he wore,” the principal said.

“He was a committed, loyal and hardworking man. He always had this radiant smile and this twinkle in his eye that would light up any room he walked into.”

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Family mourns Marine killed in Iraq

WEST BEND, Wis. — Lance Cpl. Travis M. Wichlacz was remembered as a newlywed who had boundless energy and passion during his weekend funeral.

“It was as if love spontaneously spilled from his heart,” Father Jeffrey Haines said before a crowd of hundreds packed inside St. Mary’s Immaculate Conception Church for the Saturday service.

The 22-year-old West Bend native died Feb. 5 while on patrol in Babil province, a region of Iraq known for its lawlessness and violence.

Wichlacz married Angela Coakley, a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater student, nine months ago. The two parted just four days after their wedding so Coakley, also in the military, could report for active duty with the Army in Norfolk, Va.

Wichlacz’s energy could be overwhelming, Haines said. Some people refused to compete against him in judo classes, for instance, fearful that he might hurt them unintentionally.

But “there was more to Travis than mere action or enthusiasm. There was a reason behind his passion: love for people,” Haines said.

Wichlacz, a 2002 graduate of West Bend West High School, was a wrestling, football and track star. He joined the U.S. Marine Reserves in April 2002. He always sought the most action-packed assignments, Haines said.

“He wanted to be active, not sitting behind a desk or ensconced in a hangar somewhere,” Haines said.

Before Jan. 30, Wichlacz and other Marines in the 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, helped to stabilize the region for elections. Wichlacz was a member of the Milwaukee-based Fox Company and is the fifth Wisconsin Marine from the company to die in action in Iraq. He is the 33rd member of the military from Wisconsin to die in Iraq.

Sheena Wichlacz, the 20-year-old sister of Travis, represented the family during the service. With her red hair tied back in braids, she read aloud two poems written in memory of him. The first hours after the news of his death were spent in shock, “waiting for you to reappear,” Sheena said.

“I need to face one of my biggest fears: your absence,” she read. “I would give you the world, my life . . . if it would bring you home. But since it won’t, I give you my words.”

Later, Sheena Wichlacz and Coakley embraced and wept. After the service, family members released red, white and blue balloons, which floated up into a clear, sunny sky.

— Associated Press