Faith Was Fallen Soldier's Guide

John Osmolski was a spiritual man. On his MySpace page, he begins his favorite books section with Ecclesiastes, from the Old Testament, which discusses mortality.

Army Sgt. John C. Osmolski, 23, was buried yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery. Osmolski, of Eustis, Fla., and two other soldiers were killed Feb. 5 by a makeshift bomb during combat operations near the Iraqi town of Muqdadiyah. Osmolski died in Balad, Iraq.

More than 120 mourners streamed up Arlington Cemetery's MacArthur Drive to follow Osmolski's flag-draped coffin. He was the 409th member of the military killed in Iraq to be buried at the cemetery.

New Hope Presbyterian Church, where Osmolski was active in youth groups, brought a busload of more than 40 friends and relatives from Eustis, in central Florida, to the funeral yesterday. As the mourners entered Section 60 of the cemetery, the muddy path they followed was marked with the footprints of mourners who had come for an earlier service at the grave next to Osmolski's.

"Before John was ours, he was yours," an 82nd Airborne Division chaplain said after being joined by mourners in reciting the 23rd Psalm. "And now we offer John back into your arms."

Osmolski was assigned to the 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, based at Fort Bragg, N.C.

"He was just doing his job," his brother, Daniel Osmolski, told the Orlando Sentinel last week. "His goal was always to go into the Army and serve his country."

The soldiers killed with Osmolski were Cpl. Miguel A. Baez, 32, of Bonaire, Ga., also assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg; and Sgt. Timothy R. Van Orman, 24, of Port Matilda, Pa., who was assigned to the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), based at Fort Drum, N.Y.

Osmolski was a paratrooper and combat engineer. His company commander called him "a premier young sapper, and an excellent engineer" in a statement released by the 82nd Airborne Division.

Osmolski joined the Army in January 2005 and arrived at the 82nd Airborne in June that year. He was awarded the Bronze Star with one oak leaf cluster and the Purple Heart, among many other awards and decorations.

Theresa Ohland, administrative assistant at New Hope Presbyterian, knew Osmolski because he was active in the church's youth group and went on a mission trip with her daughter.

"He was a sweetheart, and I'm sure his life spoke to a lot of the people that were in his military company," she said. "He was just one of those kids that never got in trouble."

Osmolski was bashful and handsome, a skinny boy who became "beefed up" in the service, Ohland said.

Ohland said that the last time she spoke with Osmolski's mother, Ruth, she had received a letter from him that said: "It could be possible I don't come back, but who better than me, because I'm eternally secure. I know where I'm going, and there's a lot of soldiers who don't know the Lord, so who better than me to be in the front?"

Osmolski's MySpace page, which is maintained by his girlfriend, Lindsey Cruz, has a headline with his nickname, "Squirrel." The page lists Metallica as one of his favorite bands, along with a variety of modern and classic films. And though the page is strewn with jokes, his faith remains prominent. Under personal heroes, the list begins with Jesus Christ.