Local Soldier Killed in Iraq

Residents of this town adjacent to Fort Dix and McGuire Air Force Base are mourning the second member of the Pemberton Township High School class of 1997 to die in Iraq.

Army Spc. Philip I. Spakosky, 25, an Army tank crewman, was killed by a sniper's bullet during fighting in Karbala, the site of an uprising by a Shiite militia, the Pentagon said. Spakosky was shot Thursday and died from his wound a day later.

Fellow 1997 Pemberton graduate Spc. Ryan Travis Baker, an Army helicopter crew chief, died in November when two Black Hawk helicopters collided over Mosul in northern Iraq.

"They are our children over there and it's a shame we have to lose someone so close to home," said Barbara Craddock, who lives next door to Spakosky's mother, Lisa Good. "When I heard about (Philip), I just cried. It was like I lost one of my own children."

Pemberton High spokesman Tom Bauer said about 15 percent of the high school's graduates enter the military each year. The school planned a moment of silence Tuesday.

"This makes us focus on what's going on over there and escalation in the deaths," Bauer said. "We are surrounded by Fort Dix and McGuire and are deeply saddened by this and the number of our students from our school that are over there.

"This is the second time this (school) year this has happened. It's a tragedy."

Friends and colleagues remembered Spakosky, who resided in the township's Browns Mills section, as a quiet, cooperative young man who participated in the school's business co-op program during his senior year, attending classes during the morning and working at the Pemberton Township Police Department in the afternoon.

"He was very dependable," said Lt. Robert Lewandowski. "Sometimes you get kids that tend to talk a lot and not do the work. He was a very good kid."

Spakosky was assigned to the Army's 1st Battalion, 37th Armor, 1st Armored Division, based in Friedberg, Germany. The division began its service in Iraq a little over a year ago.

He enlisted in the Army in January 2002 and completed basic training at Fort Knox, Ky., the Pentagon said.

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