Cpl. Michael D. Jankiewicz was a machine gun team leader assigned to Company A, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning, Ga. He was born on Jan. 23, 1987, in Ridgewood, N.J.

Jankiewicz was killed during a combat operation in Zabul Province, Afghanistan April 9, 2010, when the CV-22 Osprey aircraft in which he was riding crashed. He was rapidly pulled from the wreckage and treated by unit medical personal, but succumbed quickly to the injuries he had sustained.

Jankiewicz was on his fourth deployment in support of the War on Terror with one previous deployment to Afghanistan and two to Iraq.

After graduating from Ramsey High School in Ramsey, N.J., Jankiewicz enlisted in the U.S. Army in July 2006 in Philadelphia. He completed One Station Unit Training at Fort Benning, Ga. as an Infantryman. Then after graduating from the Basic Airborne Course, he was assigned to the Ranger Indoctrination Program also at Fort Benning.

Following graduation from the Ranger Indoctrination Program, Jankiewicz was assigned to Company A, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment in May 2007 where he served as a Grenadier, Machine Gunner, and Machine Gun Team Leader.

His military education includes the Basic Airborne Course, Ranger Indoctrination Program, and the U.S. Army Ranger Course.

His awards and decorations include the Ranger Tab, Combat Infantryman’s Badge and the Parachutist Badge. He has also been awarded the Army Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Army Service Ribbon.

He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Meritorious Service Medal.