Nicholas Kelly Uzenski
USMC CPL
From: Bozeman, Gallatin County
Date of Death: 1/11/2010
Conflict: Operation Enduring Freedom - Afghanistan
Family and friends of Nicholas K. Uzenski say the 21-year-old Marine from Tomball, Texas, was known for his faith, his competitive nature and his grin. “Compared to his smile alone, I have accomplished nothing,” Uzenski’s father, William, said at his son’s funeral in Bozeman, Mont., where some of his family lives. The military said Uzenski died January 11 during combat in Helmand province, Afghanistan, but it said it would not release details because he was on a sensitive reconnaissance mission. He was assigned to Camp Schwab, Japan, and had deployed to Afghanistan in November. He graduated from Franklin Central High School in Franklin, New York, in 2006. Then he enlisted in the Marines two years ago and studied at the School of Infantry-West in California. “He was a guy you naturally gravitated toward because you loved being around him,” said Major Jordan Walzer, who was Uzenski’s officer in charge in Afghanistan. “We will sorely miss our brother.” He was scheduled to return home in June. Survivors include his mother, who lives in New York, and as well as his stepmother; and two sisters and three half-brothers.
