R.I.P. Sgt. Sean M. Durkin

Army Sgt. Sean M. Durkin
Died April 09, 2010 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom

24, of Aurora, Colo.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, Fort Carson, Colo.; died April 9 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device near Forward Operating Base Wilson, Afghanistan, on March 27.

(The following was taken from mcall.com of Apr. 13, 2010) An Easton native who was serving with the Army in Afghanistan died Friday of wounds he suffered March 27 when his vehicle was hit by a bomb.

Sgt. Sean M. Durkin, 24, of Aurora, Colo. died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., according to the Department of Defense.

Durkin, who grew up on South Side Easton but moved to Colorado with his family in 2003, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, Fort Carson, Colo.

He had been recuperating at Walter Reed after losing both legs to amputation and his family and doctors were cautiously optimistic about his recovery, said Michael Yount, pastor of Phillipsburg Alliance Church where the Durkins were active before moving from the area.

But Durkin's condition rapidly worsened from a fungal infection, said Yount, who visited Durkin last week.

"Up until Thursday, it looked like he was going to make it," the pastor said.

Durkin enlisted in February 2006 and served in Iraq from March to November of 2007. He was deployed to Afghanistan in August.

"He always wanted to be in the Army since he was a little kid," Yount said, remembering Durkin as a sweet and ambitious young man who would attend Wednesday night prayer services at the church whenever he visited the area.

Yount said Durkin had to repeat basic training because he broke his foot during his first effort. Then, at the end of his second go-around, he broke it again. Those injuries never quenched his ambition to serve.

Yount said his church will hold a memorial service in about 30 days. It hasn't yet been scheduled because Durkin's sister is expecting a baby.