Alexander J. Kolasa
Corporal, United States Army
May 14, 1984 – May 31, 2006
Age – 22
White Lake, MI
Operation Iraqi Freedom
704th Main Support Battalion, 4th Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, TX
Died when he suffered a heart attack manning a guard tower north of Baghdad, Iraq
A soldier from suburban Detroit who died in Iraq served his country with the same pride he had in it while growing up. CPL Kolasa of White Lake township died of noncombat causes. Kolasa’s mother, said that her son was manning a guard tower north of Baghdad when he suffered a heart attack. “It was very sudden. From the information I got, he collapsed, they performed CPR for 30 minutes, and electro shocked him. They then helicoptered him out to a hospital where he died.”
Asked if family members had any idea that he had heart problems and his mother said “absolutely none.” Alex graduated from Lakeland High School in 2003 and joined the Army in June 2004. “He wasn’t sure if he wanted to make a career out of it. He wanted to become a mechanic. He knew finances were tight and knew the Army was the way to do it.”
CPL Kolasa idolized his older brother Tony, following him into playing baseball and hockey in school. He also ran cross-country in middle school, but his passion was fishing and tearing up cars, not necessarily putting them back together.
“He was incredibly proud of the country he grew up in,” Kathy Kolasa said. “When 9/11 happened, he was so incredibly angry, and he wanted to do something for the country he grew up in.” Kolasa wrote a letter to his family – one paragraph for each member – that was to be opened only “in case something happened to him.” Below his signature he wrote, “Proudly served.”
He said he was proud to be a soldier and believed in what he was doing. He said the soldiers did not want pity. They were proud to serve.