Dennis Weichel: American Hero

Specialist Dennis Weichel of the Rhode Island National Guard is an American Hero.  He deployed to Afghanistan to fight the Taliban and al Qaeda.  He died saving a little girl from being struck by a truck.

After more than ten years of persistent conflict around the world, there are some who would say that we have grown desensitized to the loss of American lives overseas.  But Specialist Weichel, the father of three children himself, reminds us of the sacrifice and honor of America’s men and women in uniform.

People who served with him, remember Specialist Weichel as a giving person.  WPRO quoted Staff Sergeant Ronald Corbett as saying, “He would have done it for anybody.  That was the way he was. He would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. He was that type of guy.”

Specialist Weichel, posthumously promoted to Sergeant, died protecting an innocent.  He will be buried next week in Rhode Island.