10 Years of Iraq War Casualties: Remembering John Kulick

This week marks 10 years since the beginning of the Iraq war, a good time to honor those from Montgomery County who sacrificed their lives in the fight, including John Kulick, formerly of Hatboro.

Kulick, according to his family and fellow Enterprise Fire Co. firefighters, was so moved by Sept. 11, 2001 that he joined the Pennsylvania National Guard, was deployed to Iraq and paid the ultimate sacrifice on Aug. 9, 2005.

A hero on the home front as well as the battlefield, Kulick volunteered simultaneously for several area fire companies, including his first, Enterprise Fire Co. He joined Enterprise in 1985 as a 16-year-old junior firefighter and rose to the rank of deputy chief. 

Kulick also served fire companies in Warminster and Willow Grove before moving to a paid position with Whitpain Township Fire Department some years later.

At the time of his death, at age 35, Kulick lived in Harleysville. He was one of four soldiers killed when a mine exploded, followed by an enemy attack with small-arms fire in Bayji, Iraq.

By one count, the war is directly responsible for 189,000 deaths, not including those who died from hardship caused by the fighting.

CNN has a stunning map of all casualties in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

In all, 4,802 Americans and allies have died in the Iraq war, according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, including 197 Pennsylvanians.

In addition to Kulick, five other Montgomery County residents died in combat. From the CNN war casualties Web site:

·       Tristan Caleb Smith, 23, of Bryn Athyn. One of four soldiers killed when a roadside bomb detonated near their M2A3 Bradley Fighting Vehicle during combat operations in Taji, Iraq, on Aug. 27, 2006.

·       Travis Martin Stottlemyer, 20, of Hatfield. Died as a result of a non-hostile incident at Naval Support Activity Bahrain in Manama, Bahrain, on Aug. 17, 2008.

·       Joseph Basil Maglione, 22, of Lansdale. Killed by a non-combat weapon discharge at Camp Coyote, Kuwait, on April 1, 2003.

·       Sherwood Russell Baker, 30, of Plymouth. Killed in a large explosion during a military raid looking for suspected 'chemical munitions' at a building in northeastern Baghdad, Iraq, on April 26, 2004.

·       Anthony Lee Sherman, 43, of Pottstown. Found unconscious in his living quarters and died after cardio-pulmonary resuscitation and other attempts to revive him were unsuccessful on Aug. 27, 2003, in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.