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Heroic U.S. soldier and a father of three dies saving an Afghan girl from being run over by a truck
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
PUBLISHED: 14:59 EST, 29 March 2012 | UPDATED: 18:08 EST, 29 March 2012
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Ultimate sacrifice: U.S soldier Dennis Weichel died moments after saving an Afghan girl from being hit by an armoured truck
A U.S soldier was struck and killed by an armoured truck immediately after rescuing an Afghan girl who was about to be run over.
Sgt Dennis Weichel, a Rhode Island National Guardsman, was riding along as part of a convoy with his unit in Laghman Province in eastern Afghanistan when they spotted children on the road ahead.
The children were collecting empty shell casings to be recycled for money.
Weichel and the other soldiers quickly moved the children out of the way of the following trucks, which can weigh as much as 16 tons.
Weichel saw one girl dash back onto the road and managed to grab her to safety but was then struck by an armoured vehicle moments later.
The unnamed girl was unharmed but the heroic soldier died later that day from his injuries. His body is being flown back to the U.S on Saturday.
The father of three was due to get married to his girlfriend and had only arrived in Afghanistan a few weeks earlier.
On a Facebook page set up in his memory his young children have left a message that reads: 'We are so proud of our daddy..we love and miss you. ..daddy you are our hero. Love you Nick, Hope and Madison.'
Heroic: The father of three had only been in Afghanistan for a few weeks when he died
Heroic: Sergeant Dennis Weichel had three young children who have praised their daddy as 'our hero'
Army officials called Weichel’s actions the epitome of selfless service and sacrifice and U.S. and state flags in Rhode Island will be flown at half-mast until the soldier's funeral on Sunday.
'He would have done it for anybody,' said Staff Sgt. Ronald Corbett, who was Weichel’s mentor and deployed with him to Iraq in 2005. 'That was the way he was. He would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it.'
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The young soldier from Providence had been a member of the Rhode Island National Guard since 2001, joining when he was 18.
Weichel has been posthumously promoted to sergeant and was awarded the Bronze Star and the NATO Service Medal Afghanistan Campaign Ribbon RI Star for his heroism.
Engaged: The father-of-three was engaged to his girlfriend Ashley Rabon
He was a member of C Company, 1st Battalion, 143 Infantry and was previously deployed to Iraq in 2005 as a member of 3/172 Det 2 Mountain Infantry.
His body is scheduled to be flown to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Saturday and he will be buried in Rhode Island Veterans Cemetery in Exeter on Monday.
'Tragically, Spc. Weichel has made the supreme sacrifice and at this time, we are mindful of the impact of that sacrifice on his family and friends,' said Maj. Gen. Kevin McBride, adjutant general of the Rhode Island National Guard, in a statement.
'We leave no Soldier behind.... and we will not leave Spc. Weichel’s family behind.'
Lt. Col. Denis Riel, from the Rhode Island National Guard described the loss as particularly ‘significant.’
'I have heard nothing but incredible stuff about this kid, selfless beyond our core values that we live up to,'Riel said.
Superman: The soldier was a real-life hero when he rescued a girl from an oncoming 16-ton truck which then killed him
'As I hear more from family and others, he was the living embodiment of the Army’s core values: courageous, selfless and loyal. All values we expect from our soldiers. We mourn all combat deaths, but this one is a significant loss.'
First Sgt. Nicky Peppe, who also served with Weichel in Iraq, described Weichel as a ‘big kid at heart.’
'He always had a smile on his face and he made everyone laugh. But as much as Weichel was funny, he was also a professional. When it was time to go outside the wire for a combat patrol, he was all business,' Peppe said of his former comrade.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...#ixzz1tq7SojAT
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