Quinn to give medal to late Marine's mom in Poland

Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn plans to fly to Poland to present the mother of a U.S. Marine killed in Afghanistan with her son's Purple Heart medal.

Twenty-four-year-old Marine Pfc. Dawid Pietrek of Bensenville was killed June 14 when his Humvee hit a roadside bomb. A native of Poland, he joined the Marine Corps last June, three years after arriving in the United States.

Pietrek became a U.S. citizen on July 2, the day he was buried.

In a statement Monday, Quinn says that Pietrek should be honored for making what he calls the "ultimate sacrifice for our freedom."

Quinn leaves Monday. He'll also travel to Germany to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center to deliver cards made for service members by Illinois schoolchildren.