Illinois officials are remembering a U.S. Army sergeant from Lake in the Hills who died 16 years ago today while on deployment in Afghanistan.
The Illinois National Guard said Sgt. Lukasz Saczek, 23, of Lake in the Hills, died on May 10, 2009.
Saczek died as a result of injuries suffered during a non-combat-related incident.
Saczek was assigned to Company D, 1st Battalion, 178th Infantry Regiment based in Woodstock.
“Our thoughts are with his family and friends as they remember him today,” the Illinois National Guard said on Saturday.
Saczek died in the Nangarhar Province during his first deployment to Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Saczek enlisted in the Illinois National Guard in July 2006.
He left behind a wife and a 6-week-old daughter at the time of his death.
Saczek was buried at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois.
He was originally a specialist rank but was posthumously promoted to the rank of sergeant after his death.