Memorial Day 2006
CCSD District #10 Salutes Capt. Douglas A. DiCenzo
Road bomb in Iraq kills principal's son
BY DIANE KNICH
The Post and Courier (Charleston, SC)
Army Capt. Douglas DiCenzo, son of popular Orange Grove Elementary
School Principal Larry DiCenzo, was killed Thursday in Iraq when his
Humvee drove over a roadside bomb. DiCenzo, who was 30 years old,
was "a born leader," his father said. "He knew what he wanted to do in
life and went after it."
A company commander
in the 1st Armored Division, DiCenzo went to Iraq in November. He
had been stationed in Germany. He was married to Nicole DiCenzo.
The couple had a 16-month-old son, Dakin or "Dak."
DiCenzo graduated from Plymouth High School in Plymouth, N.H., in 1995
and from West Point in 1999. He ranked fifth in his class at Plymouth
and was an all-state offensive guard for the state-champion Bobcat
football team, according to the Manchester (N.H.) Union-Leader.
Larry DiCenzo said his son decided when he was a sophomore in high
school that he wanted to pursue a military career and never wavered
from that decision.
The news of DiCenzo's death stunned and saddened the staff Friday at
Orange Grove Elementary. Curt Norman, the West Ashley school's
assistant principal, called a meeting at the end of the school day so
the staff could try to make some sense of the news. First, with
the efficiency of teachers, staffers briefly discussed managing the
rest of the school year without their leader. Then, with the
hearts of parents, sons and daughters, they talked about how they could
help their principal, his family, the school and each other.
Larry DiCenzo recently married Anne DiCenzo, principal at Mitchell
Elementary School in downtown Charleston. "We are family and this
is a family loss," said Tish Carter, a teaching assistant at Orange
Grove.
The meeting Friday felt like a gathering of family pulling together to
do its best at a time when everyone was feeling their worst.
Tears rolled, and some who had suffered losses shared what helped them
most. Patty Kay, a kindergarten teacher, said she's deeply
concerned about Larry DiCenzo. "Larry is a passionate, demonstrative
person," she said. "When he feels something, he feels it deeply. So,
when he's sad, he's very, very sad." But, she said, he can count
on the staff to take care of the school. "We'll keep doing what we have
to do here. We share his pain, and we'll pull him back up."
Reach Diane Knich at 937-5491 or dknich@postandcourier.com. It
was printed via the web on 5/27/2006 10:50:39 PM . This article
appeared in The Post and Courier and updated online at Charleston.net
on Saturday, May 27, 2006.
NH’s DiCenzo remembered as true leader
By PAULA TRACY
Union Leader Staff (Manchester, NH)
Plymouth – Army Capt. Douglas Andrew DiCenzo was remembered in his
hometown yesterday as an extremely intelligent and caring young man,
who was fearless and driven to lead. Family said the 30-year-old
West Point graduate died when the Humvee he was in hit a roadside bomb
about 2 p.m. Thursday in the streets of southern Baghdad.
In Plymouth, where graves of fallen soldiers were being decorated
yesterday for Memorial Day, the news came as a harsh reminder of the
war in Iraq. DiCenzo was company commander for C Company in the
1st Armored Division 2nd Brigade based in Baumholder, Germany. He lived
with his wife, Nichole, and toddler son, Dakin, in Germany. But
according to his stepfather, Mark Burzynski, DiCenzo said if he were
killed in action, he wanted to be buried in Plymouth.
DiCenzo’s death marked the third New Hampshire soldier to die in Iraq
this month. Burzynski, of Plymouth, said a funeral service will
be held here, likely sometime next week. He said yesterday the
family was continuing to get information in bits and pieces about what
happened and when the body would be returned.
Flags flew at half-staff
at Plymouth Regional High
School yesterday. Principal Bruce Parsons called DiCenzo “a true,
all-American.” Graduating in the top five of his class, with a
94.6 academic average, DiCenzo was president of the Plymouth Class of
1995, captain of the football and wrestling teams. He led the Bobcat
gridders to the state championship in his senior year. He also was a
school board representative from the high school and was a member of
the National Honor Society.
He considered only military academies for college and was accepted by
the U.S. Military Academy, graduating in 1999. He was deployed to
Kuwait and Iraq in November but had trained the past few years at Fort
Benning, Ga., and in Fairbanks, Alaska, friends said.
On Main Street in Plymouth, DiCenzo was remembered for his caring
nature, a man devoid of ego, fearless and a leader by example who saw
in the military a way to hone his strengths and interest in
leadership. “Probably the reason he was drawn to this was his
outgoing and caring personality,” said Scott Biederman of Holderness.
“He was an enthusiastic type who had no fear . . . There was no middle
ground. “He obviously knew what he was getting himself into,”
Biederman said. “His leadership skills were his strength.”
Prayers for his family and the military were said at an 8 a.m. Mass at
St. Matthew Catholic Church. At Plymouth Elementary School, where
DiCenzo’s mother, Cathy Crane, is a fifth-grade teacher, efforts were
being put in motion to create a scholarship in his name. The family
requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made payable to the
DiCenzo Fund and sent to Plymouth Elementary School, 43 Old Ward Bridge
Road, Plymouth NH 03264. Burzynski urged people not to send
flowers but to consider instead a scholarship gift. “Flowers will
be donated to local nursing homes,” if they arrive, he said.
Friends were rallying around the family and trying to do what they
could to ease the blow. Patti Biederman recalled DiCenzo as a
small boy and how she watched him and his brother Daniel grow. She said
she became good friends with his family when they were in the same
babysitting cooperative.
Larry DiCenzo, the soldier’s father, was principal of Plymouth and
Campton elementary schools. Crane has been a teacher for many years.
When the boys were about 2 and 5, Biederman said, their parents
divorced. Larry DiCenzo now lives in Charleston, S.C., and has
remarried. Mark Burzynski and Cathy Crane live in Plymouth.
Norm LeBlanc, a guidance counselor at Plymouth Regional High School and
DiCenzo’s Little League coach, said DiCenzo was among the finest people
the community has produced in his 37 years in education. “The
parents did a fantastic job with them, and they did not skip a beat,”
LeBlanc said. Had DiCenzo lived a full life, LeBlanc would not
have been surprised to see him become a U.S. senator, he said.
“He would always say the right thing. He was very thoughtful and
caring,” LeBlanc said. “A true leader.”
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