Services held for downstate soldier
Posted October 12, 2008 11:00 pm
HIGHLAND -- Hundreds of mourners have remembered a fallen southern Illinois soldier as someone who "could turn sorrow into laughter."
At services Saturday in Highland, friends and family said 33-year-old Sergeant First Class Gary Vasquez loved being in the Army -- and making others laugh.
He was killed Sept. 29 when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device. He was on his third tour in Afghanistan as a Green Beret with the U.S. Special Forces.
Barry DuHasek said his brother "could turn sorrow into laughter," even when life was hard.
Vasquez is survived by his wife, Sarah; his mother, Margaret DuHasek, of Highland; his brother, Barry DuHasek, of Highland; and his sister, Keely Vasquez of Chicago.
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