RIP – Ranger Michael Jankiewicz
Operation Enduring Freedom
Corporal Michael D. Jankiewicz was a machine gun team leader assigned to Company A, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Ga. He was born on Jan. 23, 1987, in Ridgewood, N.J. Corporal Jankiewicz was killed during a combat operation in Zabul Province, Afghanistan April 9, 2010, when the CV-22 Osprey aircraft in which he was riding crashed. He was rapidly pulled from the wreckage and treated by unit medical personal, but succumbed quickly to the injuries he had sustained. Corporal Jankiewicz was on his fourth deployment in support of the War on Terror with one previous deployment to Afghanistan and two to Iraq.
After graduating from Ramsey High School in Ramsey, N.J., Corporal Jankiewicz enlisted in the U.S. Army in July 2006 in Philadelphia. He completed One Station Unit Training at Fort Benning, Ga. as an Infantryman. Then after graduating from the Basic Airborne Course, he was assigned to the Ranger Indoctrination Program also at Fort Benning. Following graduation from the Ranger Indoctrination Program, Corporal Jankiewicz was assigned to Company A, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment in May 2007 where he served as a Grenadier, Machine Gunner, and Machine Gun Team Leader. His military education includes the Basic Airborne Course, Ranger Indoctrination Program, and the U.S. Army Ranger Course.
His awards and decorations include the Ranger Tab, Combat Infantryman’s Badge and the Parachutist Badge. He has also been awarded the Army Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Army Service Ribbon.
He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Meritorious Service Medal.
Corporal Jankiewicz is survived by his father Anthony Jankiewicz of Stroudsburg, Pa., and Serena Jankiewicz of Ramsey, N.J.
As a Ranger, Corporal Jankiewicz distinguished himself as a member of the Army’s premier light-infantry unit, traveled to all corners of the world in support of the Global War on Terrorism, and fought valiantly to uphold the prestige, honor, and high “esprit de corps” of my Ranger Regiment.
RIP Ranger Jankiewicz
RLTW
Attachments
Michael Jankiewicz.jpg (118.4 kb)
