 The Clarion Ledger -- Services will be Saturday for a Greenwood soldier who was killed last week in Iraq.
Sgt. 1st Class George Stanciel was killed Aug. 19 when the base he was at came under mortar attack.
Stanciel, the only soldier killed in the attack, was assigned to the 370th Engineer Company, 54th Engineer Battalion, 18th Engineer Brigade in Bamberg, Germany.
Family members recall Stanciel as an ideal protector, provider and inspiration.
Stanciel's cousin, Sonja Stanciel, lived with him while she was growing up. Just a few years older than her, George Stanciel exerted himself as a father figure for her family.
"He was the one who kept the Stanciel household together. He always wanted us to do what's right and told us to strive forward even when nobody else told us to," she said. "What he did - died fighting for his country - he did the same thing for his family."
Sonja Stanciel said everyone knew whom to go to for wise words, advice or help lifting their spirits - the man with the unforgettable smile.
"He wanted all of us to be successful in life, and he wanted all of us to be proud of him because he was proud of us," she said. "He was a hero to us."
Stanciel had been in the U.S. Army for nearly 19 years and was on his second tour in Iraq. 
His wife, Shequita Stanciel, said the two were looking forward to him retiring in three years and being able to spend more time with their 11-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter.
Shequita Stanciel holds tight to the memory of the last time she sat down and talked with her husband. It was in May when he looked at her and told her everything would be all right. He promised to return from Iraq.
She then thinks about the many times her husband told her, "I love you all the time."
That phrase started off as an inside joke, she said, but it has meant so much to her over the years.
"Even after we would have an argument, he said that to let me know that he loved me no matter what," Shequita Stanciel said. |
"Thank You" for your service and sacrifice to our country. You are a hero to my family. My thoughts and prayers are with your family and friends at this difficult time.
May God Bless!