07/25/2026
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First Lieutenant Stephen "Chase" Prasnicki of Lexington, Virginia, was a standout quarterback at West Point, known for the full force of energy he gave into every play - on and off the field. After graduating with honors from the Field Artillery Basic Officer Leaders Course, he completed both Ranger School and Airborne School before receiving his first deployment assignment with the 4th Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team - the Sky Soldiers - stationed in Bamberg, Germany. He was a man who never stopped moving forward.
Prasnicki married Emily Nichols just one day before departing for his duty assignment, and she joined him in Germany the following month. When his unit deployed to Wardak province in Afghanistan, he volunteered for patrol the moment he arrived - earning praise from his commander, Captain Tom Feeney, who called him "a commander's dream platoon leader." Just three days atter arriving in theater, his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device. He perished at 24 years old, only seven months into his marriage. Sergeant James L. Skalberg Jr.
also perished in the same attack.
For his service, 1LT Prasnicki was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal, and Purple Heart, and was laid to rest near his hometown in Buena Vista, Virginia. What is most striking about Chase Prasnicki's story is not merely how he perished β but how deliberately and wholeheartedly he chose to serve at every turn, from the football field to the front line, without hesitation, without reservation.