Neil Anthony Santoriello
Profile
Age: 24
From: Verona, Pa.
Assigned to 1st Battalion, 34th Armor, 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.
Incident: Army 1st Lt. Neil Anthony Santoriello was killed Aug. 13 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his mounted reconnaissance patrol vehicle in Khalidiyah, Iraq.
Died: August 13, 2004
Neil Santoriello took the initiative, and it showed. He was named an Eagle Scout in high school and helped command the Army ROTC program at his college. "You could count on him to get the job done," said Lt. Col. Mark N. Mazarella, the program's former director. Santoriello, 24, of Verona, Pa., was killed Aug. 13 when a bomb exploded near his patrol vehicle near Khalidiyah in Iraq’s Anbar province. He was assigned to Fort Riley, Kan. Santoriello had dreamed of being in the Army since fifth grade and took a step toward that goal by joining the ROTC when he entered Dickinson College. "Neil wanted to be an officer," said John Hackett, Santoriello's scoutmaster. The political science major was one of nine ROTC members selected from 150 applicants...