Sgt. 1st Class Matt Blaskowski of Cheboygan, Michigan was a 1998 graduate of Cheboygan Area High School where he played on the football, basketball and track teams. Beyond school sports he also enjoyed hunting, fishing and motorcycles. He joined the United States Army two weeks after graduation. During the past few years, Matthew attended college between deployments, earning a degree is Wildlife Forestry Conservation. He hoped to someday teach at West Point Military Academy. In early May 2005 he was shot in his right leg during a fierce firefight in Afghanistan while pulling another injured soldier to safety. He was honored for his actions taken and injuries sustained during Operation Enduring Freedom VI. A narrative of the event read as follows: "Numerous times, Staff Sgt. Blaskowski placed himself at great risk while engaging the enemy positions and relaying directions to his machine gun crews. Blaskowski's unwavering valor and understanding of his mission fixed a determined enemy and prevented them from maneuvering in any direction, thereby allowing 1st Platoon to destroy 17 enemy in the orchard, breaking all resistance in the valley. Blaskowski fought with dogged determination even after he was wounded in the leg pulling a wounded solider to safety, maintaining his position for another hour until he was able to help other wounded soldiers to safety. He received the Silver Star and the Purple Heart for his actions that day. Matthew was an avid sportsman, enjoying many outdoor activities throughout his youth. He was a life member of the North American Hunting Club and the 173rd Airborne Society. In their younger years, Matt and his brother Stan were always playing soldiers together, and always had each others' back no matter what they did. Matthew enjoyed 4H, including having raised a Reserve Grand Champion hog. He was preceded in death by his grandfather Stanley Blaskowski; grandparents Robert and Shirley Goode; and an aunt, Pamela Blaskowski. Matt was killed in eastern Afghanistan by a sniper on his second tour in Afghanistan at age 27.