R.I.P. Maj. David L. Audo

Name: Army Maj. David L. Audo

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Age: 35

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From: St. Joseph, Ill.

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Assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 22nd Military Police Battalion, 6th Military Police Group, Fort Lewis, Wash.

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Incident: Army Maj. David L. Audo died Oct. 27 in Baghdad of injuries sustained from a noncombat-related incident.

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Died: October 27, 2009

(Found at www.news-gazette.com)ST. JOSEPH – As the winner of two Bronze Stars and a veteran of campaigns in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq, Maj. David L. Audo's service to his country earned tributes from Gov. Pat Quinn and top-ranking Army officers.

But at the funeral Thursday, the most tears were shed when a 9-year-old boy spoke about his father.

Austin Audo said "my dad was a very good dad" and "I hope that someday I'll see him again."

Others sniffled when a high school friend from St. Joseph-Ogden days, Byron Denhart, recalled the officer serving as his best man. Denhart also recalled the many pranks of a close-knit bunch at the school.

And a general said that Maj. Audo was "a soldier's officer, the highest compliment."

Brig. Gen. Rodney Johnson, Provost Marshal General of the Army and commanding general in United States Army Criminal Investigation Command, presented Rebecca Audo with her husband's Meritorious Service Medal.

The Patriot Guard Riders, who rode their motorcycles in scores along the procession route, also presented the family with a flag.

Maj. Audo, 35, died in the service of his country in Baghdad, Iraq, on Oct. 27. The Army listed his death as noncombat- related injuries, and officers at the funeral said the matter was still under investigation.

He ran track and acted in the drama club at St. Joseph-Ogden High School, then graduated with distinction from the University of Illinois, where he served in the ROTC program and earned an architecture degree.

After joining the Army, he also earned a master's degree in Business and Organizational Security Management from Webster University, and graduated from Army Military Police School, the Intermediate Level Education Program at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the Defense Language Institute's Foreign Language Center. He was deployed overseas five times. Besides his two Bronze Stars, he earned the NATO Medal for two tours in Kosovo, four Army Achievement medals, two Army Commendation medals and two other Meritorious Service medals, as well as numerous other awards.

He is survived by his wife, Rebecca Johnson Audo; son, Austin Audo; and daughter, Ashley Audo.

Also surviving are his brothers, Victor Audo of Mahomet and Michael Audo of Wichita, Kan.; sisters Carol Dobbs of Champaign and Therese Eggett of Urbana.

His old friend Denhart said Maj. Audo enjoyed motorcycles and felt a strong sense of responsibility, including a time when he "dumped" his bike and it broke a section of fence. The future officer was back the next day to fix it, his friend said.

Quinn praised the officer as a "real all-American hero." He said Maj. Audo followed the national anthem's motto of "liberating strife." Lt. Col. Dennis Zink was Maj. Audo's superior officer, but also someone who went to church and also on vacation with the Audo family.

"That's not something you can order your subordinates to do," Zink joked.

He said the major met President Clinton in Kosovo and helped Gen. David Petraeus craft a plan for the campaign in Iraq.

He called Maj. Audo "a bright young officer with unlimited potential."