Bruno G. De Solenni, Army National Guard, Captain -- Rest In Peace

Bruno G. De Solenni, 32

Army National Guard, Captain
Joint Forces Headquarters, Element Training Team
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: September 20, 2008
Kandahar, Afghanistan
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Crescent City
High School: Del Norte High (Crescent City)
Burial: Saint Joseph's Catholic Cemetery

Kathren Jean Lopez wrote of Bruno B. De Solenni in 2008 in The Corner, at National Review:

Capt. Bruno de Solenni, R.I.P.
September 23, 2008 2:41 P.M.
By Kathryn Jean Lopez    
A brother of a friend of mine (Pia) was killed by an IED in Afghanistan this weekend, along with two Afghan interpreters. A fellow soldier was injured. I was just reading a letter Bruno’s hometown paper published before he died; what he has to say and who he was and what he sacrificed and the grief his family suffers are reminders of the tremendous burden so few of us bear for freedom:

The bad days are when you put your buddy in a body bag and you don’t even recognize him because his limbs are missing and there holes in him everywhere. The miracles are when his last words are, “tell my wife and kids I love them,” before he dies in his best friend’s arms after struggling for several agonizing minutes to get the words out because there is a fist-size hole in his head.


And last but not least, the best days are when an Afghan comes up to you thanking you for everything that you have done to help them and for making their (home) a better place now that the Taliban are gone.


If anything, this is probably the biggest reason why I proudly enjoy being over here. I can’t explain it to anyone and there is no description of what it feels like, but it was the same feeling I got when I was in Iraq as well. And I am sure it’s the same feeling that generations of American soldiers before me have gotten as they fought and sacrificed their lives for the freedoms that we enjoy today.

Do read the entire letter here.

A friend of his who survived the blast writes: “What do you say about Bruno? He was everything in a person I wish I was. Smart, kind and steel core that made him the best Officer on our team. He loved the Afghans and in combat never was there a better Operator or Leader. The man was absolutely fearless.”

In addition to his parents and twin, he is survived by another brother, Gino; and a sister, Pia Conway.
See comments about Army National Guard Captain Bruno G. De Solenni in the LA Times and read more about him here, here and here.

Captain De Solenni with Rufus

Update:
Captain De Solenni's sister, Pia De Solenni, wrote of her brother, and of media coverage or our soldiers, here:
Soldiers’ Voices
September 20, 2010 1:34 P.M. By Pia de Solenni

Army National Guard Captain Bruno G. De Solenni previously remembered at Boom3 on Monday, September 20, 2010.