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HUNTER ARMY AIRFIELD, Ga. (Nov. 14, 2011) -- Just weeks after
returning from their fifteenth combat rotation in the current
conflicts, the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger regiment honored two of
their fallen brothers in a ceremony at the 1/75 Ranger Memorial,
Nov. 4.
November 10, 2011 - Col. Michael Foster, 1/75 Ranger commander, and Command Sgt. Maj. Nick Bielich, the battalion command sergeant major, unveil the 1/75 Ranger Memorial with the names of Staff Sgt. Jeremy Katzenberger and Sgt. Alessandro Plutino, both of Company B, who were killed in Afghanistan during their most recent deployment. The memorial now bears the names of 41 1/75 Rangers who died in combat or during training. Photo by Nancy Gould, Hunter Army Airfield Public Affairs |
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Staff Sgt. Jeremy A. Katzenberger, 26, and Sgt. Alessandro "Sandrino"
Plutino, 28, both of Company B, were killed in firefights, two
months apart, in the Paktika Province of Afghanistan.
"They
were the best human beings I ever met -- heart and soul," said an
emotional Sgt. Jason Clark, who served with both Soldiers in B Co.
Their names are now etched in Georgia
granite beneath 39 other 1/75 Rangers who died in combat or during
training. The 1/75 Ranger Memorial stands in the battalion courtyard
as a constant reminder to current Rangers.
"You think about
it every day," said Staff Sgt. Andres Santiago, B Co., of the fallen
Rangers. "They definitely weren't giving up. They loved being
Rangers. Everyone here does. No one here's ever going to quit."
Katzenberger, of Weatherby Lake, Mo., enlisted in the Army in
2004. For more than six years, he served as a rifleman, |
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automatic rifleman, team leader and
Ranger squad leader with the 1/75 Rangers. He was a platoon leader
with B Co., and was on his eighth deployment at the time of his
death, June 14. He is survived by his wife, Colleen, and his son,
Everett James, who live in Richmond Hill. |
"They were great Rangers, great guys," said Santiago.
"When I first came to the platoon I was the new guy and Katz
took me under his wing. He was the senior squad leader and
showed [me] the ropes and was kind of a role model."
Plutino was a native of Pitman, N.J., and joined the
Army in 2006 after graduating from Wilkes University in
Pennsylvania. At the time of his death, Plutino was on his
sixth deployment and was scheduled to return home two weeks
later. His enlistment was scheduled to end in September;
however, according to the Regiment commander, he voluntarily
extended it to December to complete his deployment. He is
survived by fianc�e, Natalie Layton, and his parents, Dianne
Hammond and Sandro Plutino.
"Sergeant Plutino
reminded me of the Alpha team leader who, when you walked in
and saw him you though 'that's a Ranger,'" said Santiago.
During the deployment, the battalion was part of
1,000 raids, 400 enemy kills and another 1,700 captured,
according to Col. Michael Foster, the battalion commander.
"Staff Sergeant Katzenberger and Sergeant Plutino
were both significant parts of that effort," he said. "But
they also constitute the terrible price that we pay."
By Army Jennifer Hartwig
Hunter Army Airfield Public Affairs
Army News Service
Copyright 2011
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