The Grand Marshal for Elmhurst’s 107th Memorial Day Parade is Bensenville Resident Richard Duzinskas, an Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran, and two-time purple heart recipient.
Richard Duzinskas, raised on the southside of Chicago, participated in an early enlistment program offered by the United States Army, enrolling the summer of 2002 just before his senior year in high school. One month after graduating from Walther Lutheran High School in 2003, Richard left for Fort Knox, Kentucky, on July 17, 2003, to begin his basic training and advanced individual training (AIT) for his MOS of 19 Delta, Cavalry Scout. Graduation from AIT at Fort Knox was December 4, 2003, after which he was assigned to HHC 1/9 INF in the 2nd ID, 2nd Brigade Combat Team at Camp Hovey in South Korea where he served until his first deployment to Iraq in July 2004.
The 2nd Brigade Combat Team was deployed to Iraq the summer of 2004 (mid-July). Richard’s forward operating base was Camp Ramadi, in the Ar Ramadi Province of Iraq. He returned from his first deployment in late August 2005, to Fort Carson, Colorado, the new home of 2BCT. Richard served at Fort Carson, until his second deployment to Iraq.
Richard was deployed to Iraq the second time early in 2006 with B Troop, 3/61 Cav, 2nd Platoon, 2nd Brigade Combat Team. He was injured on January 25, 2007, while on patrol. His Humvee was hit by 7 large EFPs. (An EFP is a large shaped explosive made in Iran similar to an IED. Copper components in the EFP are super-heated in the explosion, become molten and cut through armored vehicles.)
Richard was in the gunner turret and 3 of his fellow soldiers were inside the vehicle. The driver and 1 dismount were killed instantly in the explosion, with the TC (truck commander) also injured but less seriously than Richard. Richard was ground MedEvac’d to the hospital on a forward operating base where he received emergency care to stabilize him for the chopper transport to a CACHE unit in the Green Zone in Baghdad, then transported to the 332nd Combat Hospital in Balad, Iraq, where he was treated until stabilized for the air lift to the Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany. From Germany, he was air lifted to Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, where he received treatment but on the way there became unstable during the flight and needed emergency medical assistance at Bethesda on the east coast. After becoming stable again, he finished his journey to Texas.
Richard’s injuries were quite severe; his left arm was completely severed. He sustained multiple shrapnel wounds to his entire left side. His left lung was punctured cut in half and collapsed. The radial nerve is completely gone along with most of the radius bone also destroyed in the explosion. Much tissue and skin was destroyed. He has had multiple surgeries (lost track after 50+) to reconstruct the arm, perform tendon transfers, skin graphs, bone fusions, etc., and is progressing well. His most recent surgery fused the remaining radius with the ulna in his left forearm. With all the hard work and excellent care provided by the BAMC doctors, there is still a chance he could lose the arm.
While in the medical center in Landstuhl, Germany, Richard was visited by Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, who presented him with a flag flown over the U.S. Capital. Richard has been awarded 2 Purple Hearts the first of which was awarded in Dec 2006 for his actions during an ambush in which he took a ricochet bullet to the face but continued fighting. Richard was also put in for a Bronze star with Valor but later received an Arcomm with Valor for his actions that day. 2nd of the Purple Hearts was was presented by General Schoomaker (pictured), the 35th Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, while in the hospital at BAMC. In July of 2008 Richard retired from the Army as a SGT. and returned home to Chicago. Richard purchased a home in unincorporated Bensenville in 2011 and still resides there.
In 2015 Richard joined an ice hockey team of veterans as a founding member which are now known as the Chicago Warriors. Hockey has always been a passion of Richard’s and was an activity he did prior to joining the military. Richard is an active member of the Elmhurst American Legion and father to 13yr old Dominick. In his spare time, Richard enjoys 3-D printing, and has designed and customized this Can-Am Spyder to reflect his military career, which he will be riding in the parade. Richard has also been featured in numerous medical publishments regarding his surgeries, and the book Ghost Riders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge by Daniel A Sjursen.
