[OT] Alan Dikcis

[Eleven]

http://www.buffalonews.com/2010/03/06/979285/wheatfield-soldier-killed-in-afghanistan.html

 

WHEATFIELD -- The Dikcis family is bearing the weight of a war.

 

Stanley Dikcis still suffers from the wounds and head trauma as the result of a roadside bomb that nearly killed him in Afghanistan a year and a half ago.

 

And his younger brother, Alan Dikcis, died Friday, also the casualty of a roadside bomb in that same country.

 

A stepbrother, Thomas "Tommy" Anthony Cannuli, also in the Army, is serving in Iraq.

 

Stanley cried tears of despair Saturday afternoon, struggling to find the words to describe his 21-year-old brother.

 

"My brother was so dedicated to the Army," said Stanley, 23, who served in the 101st Airborne Division. "He was my best friend and he looked up to me so much. I'm still numb, trying to hold it all together. I've seen a lot of death."

 

The Dikcis family, of Wheatfield, learned about the death of Alan, who was 21 and the father of a 3-year-old daughter, on Friday afternoon. Alan had been scheduled to come home for a two-week leave in April, before returning for a short time. His service was to end in July, though family members said he had just re-enlisted for seven more years, planning to switch jobs to become a helicopter mechanic.

 

A 2006 Niagara Wheatfield graduate, Alan was remembered as a loving father with a polite disposition and "knockout" smile. He enjoyed riding his yellow and black motorcycle with friends. Everyone knew of his endless devotion to the Army.

 

One of six boys in his family, Alan was based at Fort Drum, part of the 10th Mountain Division.

 

On Saturday, two American flags were displayed outside the family's cream-colored house on Walmore Road, where a yellow ribbon was tied around a large tree in the front yard. Inside, relatives gathered around the kitchen table to console one another. The family's refrigerator was covered with favorite photos of Alan, his daughter, Sophia Brown of Niagara Falls, and his family.

 

"This is just going to be very, very hard," said his father, Robert Dikcis, in a telephone interview from Dover, Del., while waiting for his son's body to be returned. "He will be very missed. I had a lot of plans for us together to do things. This will be very hard. I'm kind of at a loss."

 

"He was a good son, and loyal to what he was doing," said his stepmother, Gricela "Gigi" Dikcis, wearing a gray Army sweatshirt. "He was a good father to his daughter, and a good friend to all his friends, and his father is very proud of him."

 

Robert said his son was looking forward to a different assignment within the Army. His job was among the most risky -- fixing equipment that breaks down while being used to clear roadside bombs.

 

"He had one of the worst things to do there. It was like Russian roulette -- a mechanic and route clearance," the elder Dikcis said.

 

Stanley was forced into medical retirement after suffering numerous wounds from a roadside bomb.

 

The family is waiting to learn more details of Alan's death, but so far has been told that he was riding in a vehicle near the Taliban stronghold of Marjah when it hit an improvised explosive device. He died en route to the hospital.

 

Stanley suffered a traumatic brain injury and paralysis in his left leg -- requiring hospitalization and rehabilitation for a year before returning home last July 7. Stanley had just two days to see his brother, Alan, before Alan was deployed on July 9 to Afghanistan.

 

"He joined the Army because of me. He was so proud of me," said Stanley, wiping tears from his eyes, sitting in the Gate Coffee Shop on Lockport Road with some of his brother's friends, just a short distance from his family's home.

 

The last time the family heard from Alan was on Thursday, when he communicated via Facebook with his stepmother.

 

"He had been on his way to a mission and their equipment had been so badly damaged," Gigi Dikcis recalled Saturday. "He was concerned they weren't ready. He knew someone would get hurt."

[static70]

God Bless to the Dikcis family. My family and I are praying for you. May you continue to be strong in these most trying times for your family.

 

Static and family. :(

[billsrcursed]

That's sad. It's tough enough reading about kids dying over there. It's even tougher when they leave children behind.

 

Tragic indeed. That family has a tough road ahead of them. My prayers to the family.

[Calvin]

Our eternal thanks and prayers to the families and loved ones of all the brave folks serving out there. We can never say or do enough to show our appreciation for all they do for us.