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Nicholas J Rozanski

Dublin, Ohio

April 4, 2012

Age

Military

Rank

Unit/Location

Army

Capt

1st Battalion, 148th Infantry Regiment, 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Ohio National Guard

Walbridge, Ohio

Killed in Faryab province, Afghanistan, during an enemy attack by a suicide vehicle borne improvised explosive device.

Nicholas Jan Rozanski
ROZANSKI Captain Nicholas Jan Rozanski, 36, of Dublin, went to Heaven on April 4, 2012 due to combat injuries sustained in Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 148th Infantry Regiment of the 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team. He is preceded in death by his grandparents Frank and Anna Rozanski, Charles and Frances Mitchell and his Aunt, Anne Bownas. He is survived by his loving wife of 5 years, Jennifer (Schiller) Rozanski; his two beautiful daughters, Emma Kathryn and Anna Elizabeth; his mother, Pamela Mitchell; his father and step-mother, Jan and Jan Rozanski, his brother, Keith (Christy) Rozanski; brand new nephew, Benjamin Nicholas; his brother, Alex (Melissa) Rozanski; nephew and niece, Jack and Reagan; step-brother, Brent (Kelsey) Walton; niece, Clara; father and mother-in-law, John and Jeanne Schiller; brother-in-law, Jeff (Kerry Stankowski) Schiller; aunts, uncles, cousins; and his best friend, Chris (Renee) Weaver and their children, Colin and Maryn. Nicholas was born in Columbus and lived his entire life in Dublin, Ohio or "God's Country" as Nick commonly referred to it. Nick graduated from Dublin High School in 1994 where he played soccer. He loved soccer and continued to play throughout his life. Nick had a mischievous side that most of his high school teachers could probably attest to and he absolutely loved coaching youth soccer. Nick coached for nearly fifteen years for Ohio FC and Eagles Soccer Club. After high school, Nick went on to The Ohio State University where he received a BA in Communications. Nick was an avid runner and completed 3 marathons. His marathon training program was unique, and usually involved a Buckeye tailgate the day before a big race. Nick loved the Buckeyes and counted down all year to football season. He was always in the stands to see the band march on the field to the "Buckeye Battle Cry" and he was there until the last note of "Carmen Ohio" was sung. Nick loved to have a good time and he has many great memories with his friends. He had a witty sense of humor, which always involved a twinkle in his eye and a silly grin. Nick loved his family above all else. Nick loved his wife very much and he especially enjoyed "romantic" dinners with her at his favorite places, the Dublin Village Tavern and Rusty Bucket. He dreamed of their future together and looked forward to growing old with her. And, there was nothing more that Nick wanted than to be a father. He adored his little girls and he couldn't get enough of playing and snuggling with them. He secretly hoped that he could get one of them to love NASCAR as much as he did. The Christmas holidays were also very special to Nick. Each year his family got together to make pierogies, a Polish tradition passed on from his grandparents, and his mom made a big breakfast each Christmas morning. In 2003, Nick decided to join the Ohio National Guard where he served for eight and a half years. The military was a natural fit for Nick and he excelled at it. He started as a Specialist because he wanted to earn the respect of the enlisted, but quickly realized that he preferred to be a leader rather than a follower. Nick went on to Officer Candidate School where he became a model leader. Nick was very modest about his military service and never wanted the public recognition for it. He simply felt that he was doing what was right for his country. Nick was deployed in 2004 to Kosovo, 2007 to Kuwait/Iraq and 2012 to Afghanistan was his final deployment. Nick was employed at DSCC in Whitehall where he had worked since 2009. He loved his job and was excited to get back to it. His family and friends are extremely proud and honored to have known Nick. He is truly an American hero and will be missed by his friends, family, community and nation that he served. Family will receive friends from 2-8 p.m. TUESDAY at ST. JOAN OF ARC CATHOLIC CHURCH, 10700 Liberty Rd., Powell, Ohio 43065 with Reception of the Body Service at 2 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 10 a.m. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 18, 2012 with The Reverend Raymond Larussa, Celebrant. Burial with Military Honors will follow at Dublin Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Nick Rozanski Memorial Fund. The fund will provide Nick's family a way to touch the lives of others year-after-year in honor of Nick, and will serve as a way to give back to the community that Nick was such a big part of and which had given so much to him. Please make checks payable to the Nick Rozanski Memorial Fund and mailed to Chris Weaver-Advisor, 2095 Kentwell Road, Columbus, OH 43221, www.rozanskimemorial.com. Rutherford Funeral Home at Powell assisted the family and friends are asked to send condolences or remembrances to: www.rutherfordfuneralhomes.com. "On thy grave the rain shall fall from the eyes of a mighty nation." Thomas William Parsons.
Published in The Columbus Dispatch from Apr. 14 to Apr. 15, 2012

3 soldiers killed in Afghan bombing identified

Staff and wire reports

Three soldiers killed in a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan on Wednesday were members of the Ohio National Guard, the Defense Department announced Friday.

Killed were:

* Capt. Nicholas J. Rozanski, 36, of Dublin, Ohio.

* Master Sgt. Jeffrey J. Rieck, 45, of Columbus, Ohio

* Master Sgt. Shawn T. Hannon, 44, of Grove City, Ohio

The three guardsmen were killed in the relatively peaceful Faryab province in northern Afghanistan. The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack, but the bomber’s target was unclear, according to the Associated Press.

They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 148th Infantry Regiment, 37th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Ohio National Guard in Walbridge, Ohio. The brigade is based in Columbus but includes soldiers from across Ohio, the Ohio National Guard said.

Wounded were 1st Lt. Christopher Rosebrock of Hicksville, Ohio; Spc. Austin Weigle of Bryan, Ohio; Cpl. Everett Haworth of Olmsted Township, Ohio; and Pfc. Jacob Williams of Somerville, Ohio.

A father of two girls, Rozanski worked for the Defense Logistics Agency at Defense Supply Center Columbus.

Rozanski’s wife told the Columbus Dispatch that a family military history compelled him to join the Guard since 2003. He had deployed to Kosovo in 2004 and to Iraq in 2008.

“He did what he needed to do and what he signed up to do,” she told WCMH-TV. “I want him to be remembered as a hero and that he was a great leader in the National Guard and he cared about his soldiers,” she said.

Alex Rozanski, the brother of Nicholas Rozanski, told WBNS-TV in Columbus that his brother “loved being in the National Guard” and “loved being a leader of soldiers.”

Rozanski said Americans going on with day-to-day lives shouldn’t forget the troops. “These just become fading, brief headlines. But no, we are a nation at war, and men are dying on a regular basis over there. And people need to remember that,” he said.

Hannon’s family said he felt it was a privilege to serve his country and was proud to be a soldier, a job he did nearly 20 years while also working as a lawyer.
Hannon, chief legal counsel for the Ohio Department of Veterans Affairs, joined the state veterans agency last year after working for a Columbus law firm. Survivors include wife and their 9-month-old son.

Hannon was a graduate of Capital University law school in Columbus and had been a lawyer for six years.
“He was one of the most well-respected guys I ever met,” said Steve Palmer, a lawyer who worked with Hannon. “If somebody in the world needed help, he’d be there. He believed in what he was doing over there.”

Rieck, the father of a 15-year-old son, had served in the Army and was in Iraq for longer than a year before heading to Afghanistan. He worked full time in the Guard’s Family Readiness office.

Friend Nicole Kraft, an Ohio State University journalism professor, said Rieck was “one of those people who really believed in what he was doing.”

“He was all about being an American and doing his part,” she told The Dispatch. “He really felt it was a role for which he was — perhaps it’s too strong a word — destined.”

Ohio Gov. John Kasich on Friday ordered flags at the Capitol and other state facilities in central Ohio to be flown at half-staff on Monday in honor of the guardsmen. The governor also offered his condolences to the soldiers’ families and friends.

The Ohio infantry brigade has six battalions, with four based in Ohio and two in Michigan. It sent 3,600 soldiers to Afghanistan last summer for what was scheduled to be a yearlong deployment.

It was the largest mobilization for the 37th since the Korean War, according to the Guard. The soldiers were sent to help with counter-insurgency operations and work with Afghan security forces.

In 2005, Lima Company, a Columbus-based Marine reserve unit, lost 22 Marines and a Navy Corpsman in Iraq, including nine in one bombing. Fifteen of the 23 were from Ohio.

Another Ohio soldier was killed this week by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.

Staff Sgt. Christopher Brown, 26, of Columbus, died Tuesday, the Department of Defense said Thursday. Brown was serving his second tour of duty in Afghanistan, after spending nearly year in Iraq.