Bartlett soldier's family: 'Daddy is in God's home'
The Grieco children are still expecting Dad home soon.
For weeks, they've been hearing about taking a trip somewhere and eating Thanksgiving Dinner together during his upcoming visit.
"Now I try to tell them Daddy is in God's home," said Rashmi Grieco of her husband. "They don't understand."
On Monday, U.S. Army Sgt. Kevin Douglas Grieco died of wounds suffered in a suicide bomber attack in Baghlan, Afghanistan.
The Bartlett soldier was killed just two days after his 35th birthday and three weeks before he was to return home - his first leave since being deployed in August.
He leaves behind Rashmi and their children, Joshua, 4, and Angeli, 2.
Grieco served 13 years in the U.S. Navy and Navy Reserves, training for two weeks in Spain every year. Wanting to become an officer and see more action, he enlisted in the Illinois Army National Guard in 2006. Rashmi said Grieco's model was his father, Ralph, a retired Army colonel in Winfield.
Assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 122nd Field Artillery, out of Crestwood, Grieco's unit was training Afghan police.
"He believed so much in his work and thought they were doing a good job," said Rashmi. "He kept telling me he would die three times as long as it's serving his country."
Grieco was an avid outdoorsman and worked as a contractor for a lawn-mowing company. In 2004, he earned a degree in recreational park administration from Aurora University. He was an assistant scoutmaster in Boy Scouts and hoped Joshua would become an Eagle Scout like him.
A representative with the Guard said Grieco's body has already been flown back to the States.
Grieco is the first soldier from Bartlett to be killed in action since operations began in Afghanistan and Iraq. He'll surely be recognized by the Bartlett Veterans Memorial Foundation, which is currently raising money to build a memorial at Stearns and South Bartlett roads.
Rod Harms, Bartlett VFW Post 11018 commander, said he's spoken with Grieco's father about standing guard over the casket at the wake.
Members of the Post's color guard paid tribute to another fallen soldier just last month. Army Pfc. Leonard Gulczynski, 19, of Carol Stream, was killed Sept. 17 in Baghdad after he was ejected from a Humvee that crashed into another vehicle.
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=246276">Suicide bomber kills Bartlett soldier in Afghanistan <span class="date">[10/28/08]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>