My husband, Michael, had the privelage of working with "Ski" in Vicenza with the 173rd. He was a great friend to both of us and he will be sadly missed.

i wamt to thanks the family for thier husband and son for giving his life for our life.i dont know matt but he did something wonderful.i know it hard.but you know how mich people really care. my brother was hurt in the war we almost lose him and we were lucky. some people arent.when i read what happeh i cryed and my heart hurt for you all look up to god he is there for you.we will pray for you and your family.

Matt is my cousin,But I dident grow up with him.I hate the fact that I dident get the chance to meet him but I am proude to say that he is and always will be a true hero to me and my family.From all the storys I have heard about matt he was always a great person to be around.But the army was his job and he loved what he did.He dident die for nothing, He died so that I coude raise my son in a free country.Matt is looking down on his family and friends hear and over seas and is proude of all of us,but not as proude as we are of him.GOD BLESS YOU MATT, we love you. OUR AMERICAN HERO!!!!!!!!
Chris,Beth,
and Andrew

My husband is one of the few lucky ones who had the honor to serve our country under his command... He was a great leader and a great friend, always ready to help the others. My husband and I will always remember what a great couple Daniela and Matt were.
He was a great man who became a hero. We loved you and we will always remember you. Thank you for all you have done for us.

-Elena Meyer
wife of a soldier
C.Co 173rd Airborne Division

Our thoughts and prayers are with Matthew's friends and family. We are proud that he was a part of our community and a brave man who served our country. May God Bless you and bring you strength and peace.
Michael and Dawn Laway

I just want to tell the Blaskowski family how truely sorry I am for the loss of your son. I am from Cheboygan. Matt played football with my brother Bruce Hulbert. He was a great person and a Hero. Thank-you Matt for protecting our country.

My thoughts and prayers are with the family of Sgt. Matthew Blaskowski. My son also serves with B Company 2nd/503d of the 173d and he told me that "Sgt. Blaskowski was the glue that held the platoon together." Everyone looked up to him and respected him. I'm so sorry for the tragic loss of this honorable young man.

Matt and his brother Stan were my brothers that I never had growing up. I had alot of fun growing up with cousins like that. Matt joined the National Guard, so I joined. Matt went on into the Army, and excelled there. Matt gave it all. He has touched so many people and thier lives. I know Matt will be missed by many. I am right there with you guys.

My sister Becky is married to Matt's brother Stan, this loss has broken our hearts. We are so thankful for everyone's prayers and shared grief during this dark time. Please continue to pray for Matt's beloved family and friends this week as we prepare to lay our soldier to rest. You can post prayers and words of encouragement on Legacy Guestbook- go to "Matt Blaskowski Guestbook", I know they read them and appreciate all of your love and support.
Matt was so loved and will be terribly missed by all who knew him. Thank You, Matt, for your sacrifice.

I am the Administrative Assistant to Diana Balbaugh the principal at Carman Park-Baker Career Academy. Diana is the cousin of Matthew, she loved him very much she spoke about their birthdays being back to back in days and how he surprised her at her college graduation she could not hold or stop the tears while speaking of Matt. Diana acknowledged how proud of him she was while she was reading this link about him. I really admire Diana and is very proud of her and how strong she has been during this time of mourning for her and her family, she has been at work day and night doing her job and being a responsible principal.

Thanks for the opportunity to comment,

Enita Houston

My thoughts and prayers goes out to all the family members of Matt. He was a great person.. He could put a smile on anyones face. I had the pleasure of working with Matt at Glens and if you were having bad day at work he would make sure you would laugh. God Bless you all.

I am a Friend and Co-worker with this fine young man's cousin Diana B. in Flint. She told me about Him and I am proud to have heard the Great things about him and Thank Him and his Family for doing what He and His Comrades are doing to protect all of us. I am truly sorry for Your loss and Pray that all the Family is OK. Diana is a special lady and I know that her Cousin was as well.
Thinking of all of you and Praying for the Troops still protecting our Borders.
Tom Klee, CAHS - Marketing Instructor

My son is also serving with 2-503rd of the 173rd in "B" Company and I was saddened to hear that they had taken another casualty. I have struggled since I first read of your sons death last night on whether to respond and what I could say. Words are not enough and may do little to lighten the burden and sadness at a time like these. Just know that there are many parents like myself that are available to talk and share emotions and feelings as you are ready and/or willing to talk.
God Bless and my sincerest apologies for your having to experience this tragic time. I'm sure you're son was a wonderful person and will be missed by all.

John Rinard
College Station, Texas

Please accept my sympathy for the loss of your loved one. No words can help make sense of this. Please know that you are not alone in your grieving, we mourn for you and America, in loosing another one of the good guys.

Sister to fellow fallen soldier of the 173rd, PFC Joe Miracle.
May God Bless your family.
Jeanette Miracle-Leshan

I am sorry to learn of the death of another of the 173rd's soldiers. I hadnt heard from my son in a couple of days only to be informed when he called that they had sustained another death in their unit.
Thank you to the family and the friends for the beautiful gift of another of America's sons and heroes.
Grace & Peace
"Somebody's Mother"
Booksforsoldiers.com

I am a 100% service-connected veteran of the Vietnam war. I cannot feel anything but the deepest sadness for this young man's family and the grief they must be suffering. It is unthinkable that the present administration allows the continued sacrifice of these brave servicemen and women.
I served three tours in Vietnam from 1968-1972. I know the heartache and the sense of losing a loved one.
I have been totally against this war from the beginning, but I have always supported the military forces. It is their duty to serve where they are sent, whether right or wrong; that is their job, but usually not their choice.
They need our support everyday whether you agree with the administration's policy or not. If you have never been in their position, you can never understand what they really go through on a daily basis, and they probably don't want to tell you.
We must find a way to leave this war, to stop the lose of another member of an American family. Our country cannot continue to carry on divided as we are at the present time.
This family may feel that they cannot recover from this tragic lose. In time they will, but the scar will always remain. They must remember the time they were able to share with this young man and maybe in this they will find some comfort.
I am deeply sorry for their lose...

My thoughts and prayers are with the Blaskowski family. Although I have never met Matt, I went to school with John, Mark, Kurt and Pete and I know what a tight knit family they are and what terrible pain they must enduring. Again, my family and I will keep you in our thoughts and prayers.

I graduated with Matt in 1998. He was an all-around good guy who seems to have accomplished more in a few years then what most do in their whole life. We are very proud of him for the great challenges he took on and he is a true hero in our hearts. His family and wife are in our prayers.

Matthew gave the ultimate Sacrifice in Defending Freedom. Our brother Warrior will be missed.

We extend our Deepest Sympathy and prayers to you his family for standing behind him while he was with you and never wavering.

Jason and I are very sorry. It was a comfort to find this article and read a little about Matt and see his picture. My nephews Michael and Tommy Goode really looked up to Matt, told me about him, and loved him dearly, as do their parents Rhonda and Bob. His goodness will live on.

Please know that our thoughts, prayers, and tears are with you during this sad time. We remember Matt way back when our son, Nick played on the same Little League team with him. He is a true American hero and you both should be filled with pride on the the wonderful son you raised. May God Bless and comfort you through this ordeal.

Cheryl, Terry, Daniela, Stan and Becky,
We are sorry that we didn't get the chance to know Matt. We feel as though we knew him through the stories that you told us and we truly know how proud you are of him. Please know that you are constantly on our minds and in our hearts. We are deeply sorry for your loss and if you need anything please let us know.

Sheri Kindell and Tammy Kirsch, co-workers of Cheryl's at Citizens National Bank-Pellston Branch

Alot of our young men and women are fighting and have fought for our country in both Afgahnistan and Iraq and I admire thier strength and conviction. It is heart rendering when we lose one of those heros. Our prayers are sent to his family.

MY PRAYERS ARE WITH THE BLASKOWSKI FAMILY DURING THIS TIME. I HAVE KNOWN MATT AND HIS BROTHER STAN SINCE WE WERE IN GRADE SCHOOL. MATT WILL DEARLY MISSED AND NEVER FORGOTTEN, HE IS A TRUE AMERICAN HERO. MATT- THANK YOU SO MUCH AND I WILL MISS YOU!!

I was honored to grow up with Matt, hang out with him in high school, play soccer with him all my life. After he was wounded and came home, I joked that I would move to Italy to live in his house. We will miss him....

Love and prayers to his family...

To Terry, Cheryl, Stan, and the rest of the family,
Our love and thoughts are with you tonight and always. Sorry we could not be there to honor our hero Matt in person, but you are in our prays.
Love always,
Paula, Rodney, and Anthony

We are filled with sadness at the terrible news of this fine, young man's death. Our thought & prayers are with all of the Blaskowski family.

Our deepest condolences to all of Matt's family. Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this most difficult time.

Thank you Matt. Your bravery and service to your country make you forever a hero in our hearts. God Bless you and may you rest in peace with the Lord.

Ken & Rhonda Ingalsbe and family
Cheboygan

My heart and prayers are with the Blaskowski family. I am lucky to have no immediate family member over there. I feel the pain every time I hear of another soldiers death though.
I am proud to be an American, and to know they are fighting for what they do believe in. That is why they had signed up in the first place.
He is a hero for going back after his 1st injury, his family should be very proud. That hopfully will help in the process you have ahead of you.
God Bless!

Matthew Blaskowski was my cousin. I loved him so much. He was such a great person. He would always make you laugh!! He was my hero! I'm going to miss him sooooo much! I'm only 17 but I still believe that if George Bush would have sent them home this wouldn't of happened. He's my hero and will always be the person who I look up too. I love you Matt!! Love~ Megan

Our family is originally from Cheboygan and we wanted to offer our condolences to the Blaskowski family. We are praying for you all through this difficult time.

This young gentleman was a hero and is the kind of person our children should celebrate instead of drugged-up sports players. Matt was shot before while serving and survived, and took that in stride as "part of the job". That is the kind of person we all should try to be.