Marine EOD Sgt. Joseph D’Augustine killed in Afghanistan
On Tuesday of this week, Staff Sergeant Joseph D’Augustine was killed in Afghanistan by an IED. He was 29 years old.
Staff Sergeant D’Augustine was an EOD tech in the United States Marine Corps, and he had four tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq to his credit. He enlisted in the Marine Corps the day after he graduated from Waldwick High School in New Jersey in 2001. As an EOD tech, Staff Sergeant D’Augustine displayed the full extent of his bravery by clearing explosive threats in defending the lives of his fellow marines, soldiers, airmen, and sailors.
EOD techs, like Staff Sergeant D’Augustine, play an invaluable role in securing our freedom and in combating terrorism, but too often their heroic deeds go unreported
North Jersey.com March 28, 2012
Sgt. Joseph D’Augustine of the U.S. Marine Corps was killed in Afghanistan this week. He was 29.
Twenty four hours after four Marines showed up at his parent’s home on Campbell Street in Waldwick with news of his death, the family had gathered and members were rifling through boxes of photos of the 2001 Waldwick High School graduate to find one in which he was flashing just the right smile.
D’Augustine is survived by his parents, Anthony and Patricia, and sisters, Nicole, Jennifer and Michele and her husband, Len Kulesa of Mahwah. He also had two nephews and one niece.
As of 3:30 p.m. March 28, the Department of Defense had not released information surrounding D’Augustine’s death.
Joseph D’Augustine left for boot camp the day after his graduation from Waldwick High School in 2001, his sisters said. This was his fourth tour; previous deployments had taken him to Iraq and Fallujah, Afghanistan.
“We loved him. He was a great brother, great uncle and great son,” said Michele Kulesa. “My parents were really proud of him. His nephews looked up to him and couldn’t wait for him to come home. He was a happy guy. God just took him too soon.”
The family said they planned to leave in several hours for Delaware on March 28 to await the arrival of D’Augustine’s remains.
D’Augustine was a member of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit and belonged to Waldwick VFW Post 1049 and American Legion Nightengale Post 57, according to VFW commander Michael Echevarria.
“Not only did he want to be a Marine, but he wanted to be wherever the action was,” Echevarria said in an interview March 28. “That’s true of him with everything. In high school he was a hell of a linebacker and he was a great wrestler.”
Echevarria described D’Augustine as someone who “wasn’t happy unless everyone around him was laughing.”
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RIP. My hubs is deployed EOD and your family is in our thoughts and prayers.
Fallujah is in Iraq, not Afghanistan.
RIP Brother.
May God bless you. Thank you for your service to our nation. – Randy
We are saddened by this news. He sounds like a wonderful man. God bless you all now and in the tough days that follow. Please know our family is with you in spirit. I am gladdened only by the knowledge that he is with our son, also a young Marine killed in Afghanistan.
scott & cindy pyeatt and emily smalley and family
For Sgt Lucas Todd Pyeatt, USMC
KIA 5 Feb 2011, Machi Kehyl Afghanistan
My condolences to your family! I heard about Joe through a phone call from my son on Fri., He was very saddened! He told me that his battalion had been tagged with Joe through much of his deployment. And that he was set to be heading home at the same time as my son! The one thing my son stressed, was no matter how down everybody might be at times, Joe always put a smile on their faces! I thank you for your son’s sacrifice, as well as, your families sacrifice! I thank him for protecting my son, and countless other service men and women! God Bless! Jody
Our greatest sympathies to your family and to all who served with your son. Our son, Sgt Gabriel Anderson posted this on his FaceBook page. Gabe is deploying to Afghanistan tomorrow for his first deployment as an EOD technician. They are a proud and dedicated group. We will be praying for healing and peace for you.
went through EOD school with him class 11040s
i speak for everyone from our class that he will be greatly missed