DARLINGTON, Wis. (WSAU) – The latest Wisconsin soldier killed in Afghanistan was the first resident of Darlington to die on duty since the Vietnam War.
24-year-old Jakob Roelli, a member of the Army Special Forces, died yesterday in Afghanistan. His name will be added to a veterans’ memorial that’s being created in Darlington, and is scheduled to be dedicated in 2013.
High school principal Doug McArthur said organizers in his community have been fortunate to avoid the grief of losing a service member.
Roelli graduated from Darlington High School in 2006. He played football and golf there, performed in musicals, and skipped his graduation so he could compete in the national “Odyssey of the Mind” competition. He left U-W Oshkosh after a year to join the Army. He was stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas.
The Roelli family was on its way to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware today to wait for Jakob’s remains.
