28, of Stowe, Vermont.
Procopio died when an improvised explosive
device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations in Ar Ramadi,
Iraq. He was assigned to the Army National Guard's 3rd Battalion, 172nd
Infantry Regiment, Jericho, Vermont. Died on November 2, 2005.
"Dear family and friends of Lt. Procopio. My name is Chuck Nelson. Mark died while rushing to the scene of a shot down Cobra helicopter. That helicopter was piloted by my brother in law, Cpt. Michael Martino. The entire Martino family is very, very appreciative of Mark's efforts to reach the crash site and protect Michael's and his co-pilot, Maj. Bloomfield's remains from desecration. Please know that we have thought of Mark often and understand what your family is going through. It is a horrible thing that both our family members died in such manners, but their actions were of the highest valor. Thank you to Mark and God bless your family."
Chuck Nelson of Virginia
We honor his service and his life on Memorial Day and always.
From the Burlington Free Press article by Ashley Matthews
Speakers at the service remembered Procopio for his loyal military service and strong personal character, his love of family and vibrant passion for life.
While Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas spoke of Procopio's dedication to serving America, Stephen LaTulippe recalled his nephew as a child with a constant "Procopio grin." Retired Col. David Procopio remembered his son as a man who relished every moment of life, and 1st Lt. Christopher Carbone spoke of Procopio as a friend who supported him through words and action in Iraq.
"He bolstered me, gave me the strength and the ability to do what I have to do," Carbone said, describing his last encounters with Procopio in Iraq before Carbone was injured and transported back to the United States.
David Procopio remembered his son as a boy, then a man, who left nothing unsaid or undone -- as someone who wanted to play every sport, and every position in every sport. He recalled a day when his son, then a middle-schooler, brought home his first honor roll report card.
"He told us, 'I just wanted to see if I could do it, and I did it and it wasn't that hard,'" David Procopio said, drawing a laugh from those gathered in UVM's Ira Allen Chapel.
As mourners spilled from the chapel into the bright sunlight, Maj. Tom Cahalan, Procopio's fellow Guardsman and friend, said he knew how Procopio would have spent Saturday, a beautiful fall day in Vermont.
"If he weren't out with his lovely wife, he'd be out hunting and shooting," Cahalan said with a knowing smile.
Much of Procopio's family shares the bond of military service, including his father, who retired from the Vermont National Guard, and his grandfather, Gerald LaTulippe, who was a sergeant major in the Guard. Procopio's wife, Erika, is a Vermont National Guard first lieutenant who was serving in Kuwait when her husband died.
According to military reports, Procopio was killed by a homemade bomb as his patrol conducted a rescue mission at the scene of a U.S. helicopter crash in Iraq. The two Marines aboard the helicopter died in the crash, for which al-Qaida claimed responsibility.
