Lt. John T. Wroblewski

Hometown: Oak Ridge, New Jersey, U.S.
Age: 25 years old.
Died: April 6, 2004 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Unit: Marines, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, CA.

Birth: Apr. 16, 1978, Hackensack, New Jersey, USA
Death: Apr. 13, 2004, Al Anbar, Iraq
Born on April 16, 1978, in Hackensack, NJ. He graduated from Jefferson High School.He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Rutgers College at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, graduating in 2002.He continued on to Officer Candidates School at Quantico, Va. (C Company, Third Platoon), and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United State Marine Corps on Dec. 13, 2002. He continued his military education at The Basic School from Jan. 13, 2003, until July 1, 2003, and graduated 10th out of 231 officers. He was appointed to the General's Honor Roll and was Meritoriously Augmented. He was a Marine Corps Martial Arts Green Belt Instructor. He attended and graduated from the Infantry Officer Course in Quantico, Va., on Oct. 17, 2003, and was transferred to Camp Pendleton, Calif. Upon his arrival, he assumed command of the Second Platoon, Echo Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines. All through grade school, John enjoyed baseball and football. He was captain of the football team at Jefferson High School. He was made a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society. He enjoyed spending time with his friends, going fishing and walking his dog. He loved the Marine Corps. He participated in the Special Olympics as an internship and enjoyed volunteering and helping others. He enjoyed making people laugh and was a true prankster. He loved being a husband to his wife, and a father to his 40 Marines. He is survived by his wife, Joanna Lynn Leonhardt Wroblewski, his father and mother, John and Shawn Wroblewski; his brothers, Michael, David and Richard; and his maternal grandparents, Tom and Johanna McLaughlin. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in his memory to Navy Marine Corps Relief Society Headquarters, 4015 Wilson Blvd., 10th Floor, Arlington, Va. 22203-1977.

 
 Burial:
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington
Arlington County
Virginia, USA
Plot: Section 60 Site 7974

Associated Press -- WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, New Jersey -- Funeral services were held this week for a Marine Corps officer from New Jersey who was killed during a gun battle in Iraq earlier this month. 2nd Lt. John Thomas "J.T." Wroblewski, 25, of Jefferson Township, died April 7, one day after he was wounded during a shootout with insurgents in the Al Anbar Province. Wroblewski, who was deployed shortly after being married last July, was one of at least 12 Americans killed in the battle. Wroblewski's wife, Joanna, and his father, John, both delivered eulogies during Wednesday's service at Our Lady of the Mountain Church in Washington Township. Wroblewski, the first Morris County resident to die in Iraq, will be buried Friday at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. Reading from a letter she wrote her husband after his death, Joanna Wroblewski said she would always cherish the times they shared together. "You always told me, on the battlefield, you would be the last to leave. I know that even in death, you are still trying to bring them home," she said. Wroblewski's father offered similar sentiments. "He was our hero. He loved his family, his country, the United States Marine Corps. He was a dedicated and loving husband," John Walter Wroblewski said. "As an older brother, he was truly a role model. As a son, we couldn't be more proud. We will always cherish his memories." A Rutgers University graduate, the younger Wroblewski joined the Marine Corps on Dec. 13, 2002. He was based at Camp Pendleton in California and was an infantry officer assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force.