April 16, 2009:
ROME, N.Y. (AP) - Family and friends told stories as they gathered to give a hero's farewell to an upstate New York Marine killed in combat in Afghanistan. The stories provided a light note in the otherwise somber service for 22-year-old Lance Cpl. Blaise Oleski of Floyd. Oleski died one week ago in Afghanistan's Helmand Province. Hundreds attended a funeral Mass for Oleski at St. Peter's Church in Rome, 35 northeast of Syracuse. Afterward, a final committal service was held at the nearby Fort Stanwix National Monument with a Marine honor guard and re-enactors in Revolutionary War uniforms looking on. Oleski was the second Marine from the Rome area to die in Afghanistan within the last month. Lance Cpl. Daniel Geary of Rome died in combat March 20.
April 14, 2009:
Body of local Marine Blaise Oleski arrives home
Rome (WSYR-TV) - The body of Lance Corporal Blaise Oleski is back in Central New York. The 22-year-old Marine and Floyd native was killed in on April 7th. He is the second Marine from the Rome area to die in Afghanistan in less than a month. His remains arrived at Griffiss Airport Tuesday morning. There was complete silence as Blaise's flight neared; hundreds were waiting to greet him. “One of our soldiers came home today and I needed to be here to welcome him home,” said Teri Niedzieski, whose family knew Blaise. It was not the homecoming anyone had hoped for. “It's just tragic. I can't believe he's gone,” said Josh Lloyd, a childhood friend. Friends and family members endured an agonizing wait before Blaise’s casket came into view. When it did, reality set in for many. All stood proud because it was what the brave young soldier deserved. “It makes us proud to see that they're willing to help serve us and give their lives to their countries,” said Pam Lemieux, came to pay respect. Her son is with the Civil Air Patrol. It was a tribute Blaise would have been proud of. “This is the way he would want to be remembered, I think. Not as a hero but just that he was there to do his part. He wasn't a selfish person at all,” said Josh Lloyd, a childhood friend.
Parents talk about their son
His parents say this was exactly what he wanted to do -- serve his country. At the age of six, Blaise visited Gettysburg with his family. His parents recalled he stopped at every monument and took it all in. Ever since then, he was hooked on the history of the Armed Services. At the age of 19, Blaise enlisted in the Marines. His family wasn’t surprised. They weren’t surprised when he told them he was going to Afghanistan either, but they were worried. “He came home and said, ‘Mom, I’ve already enlisted, you can come with me to the recruiter to get specifics,’” his mother Theresa recalled. Throughout his time in Afghanistan, he stayed in contact with his entire family through phone and Facebook. His mother still remembers the last phone call in late March. “I talked to him for 14 minutes and 50 seconds,” she said. They talked about a Marine from the Rome area who had just died. It was a call she will never forget. A couple of weeks later she got the dreaded knock on the door from the services. “I saw those uniforms, and you know what that is, I opened the door and they came in, they didn’t have to say anything.” While everyone in the family is dealing with a broken heart, they find comfort in each other, and knowing Blaise died doing what he wanted to do since that trip to Gettysburg: Serve his country. Oleski’s body returns home Tuesday at 10 a.m. at Griffiss Airport. Calling hours are Wednesday at Barry’s Funeral Home in Rome from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. The funeral is Thursday at 11:00 p.m. at St. Peter’s Church in Rome. The family says they want everyone to keep in mind all of those serving overseas. They would like folks to send care packages to all of those overseas. To send care packages to Marines, send to: Grappler Company
3D LAR BN GRAPPLER CO
UNIT 41701
FPO AP 96426-1701
April 12, 2009:
Funeral arrangements for Oneida Co. Marine set
Floyd, Oneida County (WSYR-TV) - Funeral services for Lance Corporal Blaise Oleski will take place 11 a.m. Thursday at Saint Peter's Church in Rome. Calling hours are Wednesday at Barry's Funeral Home, also in Rome, from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Oleski's remains arrived back in the U.S. Thursday evening, at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. They will be flown to Griffiss International Airport on Tuesday at around 10 a.m. His family granted media coverage of the initial arrival last week, following an 18-year ban imposed by the Pentagon on recording such somber proceedings.
Oleski is the second Marine from Oneida County to be killed in one month. Daniel Geary, who also died in Afghanistan, was laid to rest in March.
April 9, 2009:
Body of fallen Marine arrives at Dover Air Force Base
Floyd, Oneida County (WSYR-TV) - Central New York has lost its second Marine in a month to the war in Afghanistan. Thursday, the body of Lance Corporal Blaise Oleski arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. The 22-year-old graduated from Holland Patent High School in 2004. “He never once said ‘I'm afraid,’ never once said ‘I'm afraid to die.’ The only thing he said was ‘I don't want to die, because it will make my family sad,’” says Oleski’s best friend, Trevor Hiffa. Hiffa is among those numb with grief on Thursday, but was willing to share some stories with us about his best friend. Not long ago, Hiffa and Oleski -- along with Oleski's brother Bryce -- went canoeing down the St. Lawrence and got tired of paddling. “We decided halfway through we didn't want to do it anymore, so we asked my parents in the powerboat to toss us a rope. And we just told them to floor it,” Hiffa says. One capsized canoe later, everybody was in fits of laughter. This memory is Trevor's favorite, “maybe because it was the last great one. Before that there were millions of them, but that was the last great memory I have of him,” says Hiffa. It's also one Trevor shares, because he wants Blaise to be remembered as more than just a soldier. “He was such an honest kid, such a great kid, a great friend, a person and a family member. And someone who would have been a great father and someone who would have been a great friend in the future,” Hiffa says. Of Olesky’s life, Hiffa says “it was short-lived, but it was fantastic. I was lucky to have a friend like Blaise.” Oleski's family is in Dover, and will accompany his remains back home to central New York.
April 8, 2009:
Community gathers to honor fallen Marine
Floyd, Oneida County (WSYR-TV) - The parents of fallen Oneida County Marine Lance Corporal Blaise Oleski are in Dover, Delaware Wednesday night, awaiting the return of their son's body. Oleski is the second Marine from the Rome area to be killed in Afghanistan in less than three weeks. Oleski was a 2004 graduate of Holland Patent High School and served in the same unit as Lance Corporal Daniel Geary, who was killed March 20. In Floyd, Oleski’s hometown, neighbors are doing what they can Wednesday night to honor him. The flag at Floyd Town Hall has been lowered to half-staff in honor of the 22-year old who died doing what he was meant to do. Guidance counselors at Holland Patent High School say from day one, Blaise Oleski wanted to join the service. Volunteer firefighters set out to show their respects for the fallen Marine as well. “The ultimate sacrifice for our community, for our country -- it's just our little bit of showing our respect for him,” says John Stark Sr. of the Floyd Fire Department. Floyd is the type of community that's small enough to care about each and every member, even if they don't know each and every member. “It saddens us. Really saddens us,” says Stark. Oleski's parents got the news at 5:00 Wednesday morning, and headed to Dover soon after. There, they will deal with what is by far the most difficult task a parent faces -- the death of their child. “It's just terrible,” Stark says. “No way else to put it. Just terrible.” In many respects, the war has taken a back seat to the economy -- it seems far away and removed. But to the Floyd community, it's now far too close. “They know what they got to do...hopefully they make it back safe. It's a terrible travesty,” Stark says. Rome mayor James Brown says he's already spoken with the police and fire departments, as well as the VFW. They want to show the same outpouring they did for the funeral of Lance Corp. Daniel Geary. A family friend says Oleski's body should be back in Dover Thursday, and must remain there for three days before returning to Floyd.
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