Seven Soldiers From Pa. Killed in Iraq

By KATHY MATHESONAssociated Press Writer
August 11, 2005, 8:12 AM EDT

PHILADELPHIA -- Seven National Guard soldiers from Pennsylvania have been killed in Iraq in less than four days, a toll that Gov. Ed Rendell said "brings home the crushing reality of this war." Five were slain on Tuesday, the deadliest day of the war for the state's soldiers, the governor said Wednesday.

The five killed include Gennaro Pellegrini Jr., a 31-year-old Philadelphia police officer; John Kulick, a 35-year-old firefighter from Montgomery County; and Nathaniel DeTample, the 19-year-old son of a Bucks County detective.

The National Guard declined to say Wednesday how or when the three died, or to confirm the deaths of the two other soldiers Rendell was counting.

Two additional Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers were killed Saturday in Iraq.

"It brings home the crushing reality of this war ... and the incredibly high price we pay for what we're trying to accomplish," Rendell said. National Guard officials planned news conferences Thursday, said Guard spokesman, Capt. Cory P. Angell.

Just weeks before Pellegrini left to train for Iraq, he won his first professional boxing match with a fourth-round knockout at the famed Blue Horizon club in Philadelphia.

"He had a lot of heart, a lot of determination," said police Capt. Lou Campione, Pellegrini's superior officer. "He was there for you. He covered your back."

Whitpain Township Fire Marshal David M. Camarda learned of Kulick's death early Wednesday. Kulick was the township's assistant fire marshal and had worked in the department for seven years. "John was just a dependable individual," he said. "He was the guy that if the shift started at 9:30 p.m., he was there at 8:30 to make sure everything got done right."

DeTample, a graduate of Pennsbury High School, was the son of police detective Glenn DeTample in Lower Makefield Township. "He was loved by all the police officers. He was a good, good boy," said township Police Chief Kenneth Coluzzi.

The recent list of the dead also includes Sgt. Brahim Jeffcoat, 25, of Philadelphia, and Spc. Kurt Krout, 43, of Spinnerstown. Both died Saturday when their convoy struck a bomb 60 miles north of Baghdad. In Ohio, the 3rd Battalion Marines' Lima Company recently lost 16 Marine reservists over a 10-day period.

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