U.S. Army battalion honors second fallen soldier since arrival in Iraq [Image 2 of 7]

HIT, IRAQ

06.28.2006

Photo by Staff Sgt. James Goodwin 

I Marine Expeditionary Force

A Kevlar helmet, M4 Carbine rifle, military dog tags and two medals - the Bronze Star and Purple Heart - were several items used to represent the memorial of Spc. Michael J. Potocki during a memorial service June 29, 2006, in Hit, Iraq. Potocki, a 21-year-old native of Baltimore, Md., and 2003 graduate of Patterson Senior High School, was killed in action June 26, 2006, while conducting combat operations in Hit - a city of 30,000 in Iraq's Al Anbar Province. Potocki was an infantryman with the Friedburg, Germany-based 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment - the U.S. military unit assigned to this region of Iraq. Potocki is the second U.S. soldier killed in the region since the battalion arrived in February. "He was a new breed of infantry soldier, but more importantly, he was a helluva person," said Potocki's team leader, Cpl. William McCoy, during the ceremony. "He is what I would want another country to see an American as." (Photo by Staff Sgt. Jim Goodwin)

• Date Taken: 06.28.2006
• Date Posted: 07.06.2006 12:35
• Photo ID: 25205
• Resolution: 655x1200
• Size: 201.67 KB
• Location: HIT, IQ