Stryker Brigade News

May God bless this family now and always. I will keep you in my prayers.
Former Stryker Mom,
Ellen

May God be with you during this terrible time. You will be in my prayers.
Former Stryker Mom,
Ellen

To the family and loved ones of SFC Matthew I. Pionk: "I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours, to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of Freedom"......Abraham Lincoln.
It is with deepest sadness that I express my condolences to you upon the loss of your Hero, who paid the ultimate price in the fight for freedom for the people of Iraq, and in the defense of his brothers and our grateful nation. SFC Pionk will not be forgotten, and you will be in my prayers. Proud father of a G Co 3-2SCR Stryker. gdb626@hotmail.com

What does one say? I am not as wonderful as the other poster; all I can really think is this so sucks.. I am so sorry. I am a proud mom of a stryker soldier who is in Iraq now.

My heart goes out to the family and friends of SFC Pionk. Thank you for the price you paid; how dear a price.

May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

I am very sorry for the loss of this fine young man and HERO SFC Matthew I Pionk.
I pray the family, friends and fellow soldiers will be guided by a higher power to give you all peace, comfort and strength in this time.

Psalm 34:18
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit
GOD Bless you and your family. Your soldier was a true American Hero and we are all very proud of his service. He will not be forgotten!

Gale Poindexter
(Proud mother of Sgt Joel W. Lewis, 5/20, 3-2 SBCT /Ft Lewis
KIA 5/ 6/07, Baqubah, Iraq)

Our thoughts and prayers go out to you. Mom of a stryker in Iraq.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of SPC Pionk. Our son is with the 3/2 from Vilseck also. Words cannot truly express the sorrow we feel for you. God bless.

My heart aches for Melanie and the kids, and the other family that Pionk left behind. He was an amazing and funny man. So glad that we had the time that we did with him. God bless you and know you can be so proud of him.

Melanie, I am so sorry! I can't even imagine what you're going through right now. Hearing of Matt's passing brought me back the day Mike died. Your husband was so great that Mike constantly talking about him at my house. Know that Mike and Matt will be watching over us and our children.
Melanie, I am here for you if you need someone to talk to.
Take care and May God Bless and guide you and your children.
Mila Bordelon

Our deepest sympathy and condolences in your loss.May God be your strength until you meet again.
John and Joan Mikluscak
Parents of Zachary John Mikluscak
2/25 SBCT Taji Iraq

To the familiy and friends of SFC Matthew I. Pionk, I'm so sorry for your loss. My heart breaks for SFC Pionks' children. I lost my son in September of last year. His name was SGT Robert T. Ayres III. He was also with the 3/2 from Vilseck. Robert had been transferred from "A" Co to "G" Co. He was best friends with SGT Chris Sanders.

I thank God for having known our brave children and to have been touched by their heroic, unselfish willingness to serve our country.

God Bless you. Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is anything I can do for you.

To family, friends and fellow soldiers, I pray the Good Lord gives you the necessary strength for each day without your Matthew. SFC Matthew, I thank you for protecting complete strangers...John 15:13 "there is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends". You will always be remembered for the Hero that you are.
Sincere respect and gratitude.
Linda
Joe's Stryker Mom

Our deepest sympathy on the loss of your son,SFC Matthew I. Pionk. We share in your grief as we also lost our son, SGT Christopher Sanders. We were recently informed, by a soldier that survived this aweful explosion, that he had never worked with more professional soldiers than our sons. May Peace be found for us all and may our childrens' ultimate sacrifice never be forgotten. Kelly and Marie Sanders

To family, friends and fellow Soldiers of Matt Pionk, my sympathy and condolences to you all. Matt Pionk was a true professional, model Soldier and friend to all that knew him. He was the bedrock of his Platoon during his 1st deployment. God Bless

As the mother of a former Deuce Four soldier, I am brought to tears by this loss and the reflections of Mila Bordelon and other Deuce Four families. Tragedy has struck again, and old wounds join the new ones. Know that SFC Matthew Pionk is now a Hero in God's Army, and his sacrifice will remain etched in our hearts for a lifetime. The entire Stryker Family joins the family, friends and fellow soldiers of SFC Pionk as you walk through this Valley of Death. We pray that the Angels of Mercy will wrap you in comfort and give you strength. Go with God, SFC Pionk, your mission on earth is complete.

Mrs. Pionk i am deeply saddened about SFC Pionk passing away. He was a great leader. i had the pleasure of serving with him on our deployment from ft lewis. i was in his weapons squad with reynolds, holden, vang, ohrt, hood and me, chacon. then i had the privelage of being his vehicle commander in iraq. there are no words to describe how great of a person he was or to describe how he has helped me become the man/soldier that i am today. i really wish i could have told him how big of an impast he was and still is in my life. i tried to keep as much contact as possible with him but he was very busy. all of us from 3rd platoon weapons squad, bravo company, 1/24 infantry regiment, 1/25th infantry division are deeply saddened. take care and may god bless you and your family in the many years to come.

I served as a Squad Leader in A Duece Four with Matt in 2004 - 2006. Good Dude who took care of his Soldiers. That kind of thing you do not teach, it is bred into us by our parents. I read of the names who post here and I am reminded of the extended family we all become a part of. The war is far away, but right around the corner.

To the family of Matt Pionk. May the Lord keep and protect you and look out for the little ones. Matt was trying to make a difference.

SFC Timothy Schmidt
Deuce Four

I served with Matt for almost 4 years in Deuce Four and I was crushed to hear the news. My heart goes out to Melanie and the kids. I could always depend upon Matt for his competence at his job, his teamwork in Bravo Company, and most of all, his friendship. He was a great bro' in good times and bad. He was a true field soldier who was happy to be with his boys in the thick of things. He is in good company with so many of our Deuce Four brothers.
Take it easy and godspeed brother.

MSG Barry Chapman

My God. I am truely devistated by the death of SFC Pionk. We have lost far too many good people. I just read about this today and had no idea. My husband was assigned to 1rst Brigade at Fort Lewis and I worked with so many who have now passed. My job was indirect and did not allow me to get to know these brave people as well as all of you but I feel such sorrow for all of the friends and family of SFC Pionk, First Sergeant Bordelon and many others. Please accept my deepest condolances on your loss. You will all be in my prayers.