Kirk Allen Straseskie’s father and grandfather served in the U.S. Army, and he wanted to follow in their footsteps, to a point.
Straseskie graduated from Beaver Dam High School in 1998, and then fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming a Marine.
In May 2003, a Marine CH-46 helicopter went down in a canal near Al Hillah, Iraq. Straseskie jumped into the canal, attempting to rescue crewmembers. He drowned.
He was 23 years old, and the first Wisconsin casualty of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
One-hundred thirty-five more would follow.
The…
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