Air Force, Master Sergeant
Based: Aviano Air Base, Italy
31st Medical Support Squadron
Supporting: Operation Enduring Freedom
Died: September 4, 2007
Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan
Single
Gender: Male
Hometown: Walnut Creek
High School: College Park High (Pleasant Hill)
Burial: Sacramento Valley National Cemetery, Dixon, Calif.
In e-mails posted to a memorial website for soldiers, friends and military colleagues remembered Magnani for his humor, constant smiles, love of history and thirst for knowledge.
In addition to Afghanistan, his service took him to Spain, Italy, Greenland, Germany, South Korea and Iraq.
"He was the kind of person who knew how to light up a room with his personality. . . . You just couldn't be in a bad mood in his presence," wrote Rob and Autumn Lombardi, who were stationed with him in Italy.
When Magnani deployed to Iraq in 2005, his brother Christopher admitted being "scared to death." But Magnani worked within Baghdad's Green Zone, setting up hospital facilities, and was relatively safe.
Magnani had planned to retire from the military in two years, after hitting his 20-year service mark.
"He joked that he wanted to marry an Italian girl and move to Italy," his sister said.
Magnani was posthumously awarded the Meritorious Service Medal and won several other awards, his mother said.
"I feel like I've lost my heart," she said.
Air Force, Master Sergeant Patrick D. Magnani previously remembered at Boom3 on Saturday, September 4, 2010.
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