Diverse News 2008®

NEWS FEEDS

January 13, 2008

30th Pennsylvania National Guard Soldier Succumbs from Injuries

 HARRISBURG, Pa., Jan. 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A senior
Pennsylvania Army National Guard officer has died at Brooke Army Medical
Center, Texas, due to injuries received from an improvised explosive device
attack in Khowst Province, Afghanistan.

    Lt. Col. Richard J. Berrettini, 52, Eldred, McKean County, died Jan.
11, nine days after the HMMWV he was a passenger in was attacked. He was
serving a one-year tour and was scheduled to return home at the end of the
month.

PHOTO LINK

    A South Carolina National Guard soldier and an interpreter were also
killed in the incident. A Maryland National Guard Soldier was injured.

    Berrettini, a nurse practitioner, was assigned to the Pennsylvania Army
National Guard Medical Detachment, Erie Clinic. He volunteered to serve in
Afghanistan and was assigned to the South Carolina National Guard.

    "Lt. Col. Berrettini was a committed and dedicated soldier who deeply
cared for his fellow service members," said Maj. Gen. Jessica L. Wright,
state adjutant general. "We mourn the loss of Richard, and our thoughts and
prayers are with his family during this very trying time. He represented
the best of our commonwealth and country, and he made the ultimate
sacrifice."

    Berrettini is the second Pennsylvania National Guard officer lost in
combat since the 9/11 attacks. Lt. Col. Michael McLaughlin, 44, of Mercer,
was killed Jan. 5, 2006, by a suicide bomber at an Iraqi police recruiting
station in Ramadi, Iraq.

    Thirty Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers have been killed in Iraq
and Afghanistan.

    As a civilian, Berrettini was a Port Allegheny High School nurse. He
was a former active duty sailor and joined the Pennsylvania National Guard
in 1984.

    Berrettini is survived by his wife, Jane; mother, Doris; brother,
Nello; and two sons Vincent, 26, and Christopher, 22. Vincent is a U.S. Air
Force Academy graduate and an Air Force pilot. Christopher is a graduate of
the U.S. Military Academy.

    Berrettini will be posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Combat
Action Badge.

    Memorial services have not been scheduled at this time.

    EDITOR'S NOTE: Photos of Lt. Col. Richard J. Berrettini can be found at
http://www.dmva.state.pa.us.

    CONTACT: Lt. Col. Chris Cleaver




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