Sgt. John C. Osmolski of Eustis, Fla., grew up in Eustis, where he lived until he left for boot camp in January 2005. He attended Circle Christian School in Orlando, where he was a forward on the soccer team. As a teenager, he was active in the youth groups at New Hope Presbyterian Church in Eustis and at nearby Bay Street Baptist Church. David Kelly, the youth director at New Hope, went on several mission trips with Osmolski and his twin sister, Julia, to Peru, where the church ran a ministry for street children. He wanted to join the military ever since he was a boy playing with G.I. Joe. He thought he would attend college first, and after he graduated from high school, he spent a couple of semesters at Valencia Community College. Then he got impatient. John was scheduled to be discharged in May 2008, and he did not plan to re-enlist. He wanted to start a family and finish college, and he had told his brother that he was toying with the idea of working for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He planned to take the summer off and spend time with his family, work on his car and play with his dog named Ophelia that he had brought home on a whim as a teenager. John was extraordinarily close to his family, especially with his twin sister, Julia, who was born a minute after him. John was less than a week away from a visit back home when he died in Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered in Al Muqdadiyah when they encountered an improvised explosive device during combat operations at age 23.
Army
2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion
2nd Brigade Combat Team
82nd Airborne Division
Fort Bragg, N.C.
Army
2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion
2nd Brigade Combat Team
82nd Airborne Division
Fort Bragg, N.C.
Sgt. John C. Osmolski of Eustis, Fla., grew up in Eustis, where he lived until he left for boot camp in January 2005. He attended Circle Christian School in Orlando, where he was a forward on the soccer team. As a teenager, he was active in the youth groups at New Hope Presbyterian Church in Eustis and at nearby Bay Street Baptist Church. David Kelly, the youth director at New Hope, went on several mission trips with Osmolski and his twin sister, Julia, to Peru, where the church ran a ministry for street children. He wanted to join the military ever since he was a boy playing with G.I. Joe. He thought he would attend college first, and after he graduated from high school, he spent a couple of semesters at Valencia Community College. Then he got impatient. John was scheduled to be discharged in May 2008, and he did not plan to re-enlist. He wanted to start a family and finish college, and he had told his brother that he was toying with the idea of working for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He planned to take the summer off and spend time with his family, work on his car and play with his dog named Ophelia that he had brought home on a whim as a teenager. John was extraordinarily close to his family, especially with his twin sister, Julia, who was born a minute after him. John was less than a week away from a visit back home when he died in Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered in Al Muqdadiyah when they encountered an improvised explosive device during combat operations at age 23.
Army
2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion
2nd Brigade Combat Team
82nd Airborne Division
Fort Bragg, N.C.
Army
2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion
2nd Brigade Combat Team
82nd Airborne Division
Fort Bragg, N.C.
