PORT HENRY -- Three U.S. Army Reservists from small towns in three different parts of upstate New York were killed in Afghanistan when a roadside bomb struck their vehicle, military officials said yesterday.
The Department of Defense identified them as Staff Sgt. Dain Venne, 29, of Port Henry; Spc. Ryan Jayne, 22, of Campbell, and Spc. Brett E. Gornewicz, 27, of Alden. They died of wounds suffered Saturday when enemy forces attacked their unit in Paktiya province, the Pentagon said.
They were members of the Watertown-based 479th Engineering Battalion of the 411th Engineering Brigade in New Windsor and were attached to 178th Engineer Battalion of the Vicksburg, Miss.-based 412th Theater Engineer Command.
Lt. Col. Doril Sanders of the 412th TEC told The Associated Press that the three New Yorkers were combat engineers conducting route-clearing duties when the bomb went off.
Venne was a volunteer firefighter in his hometown on the western shore of Lake Champlain in Essex County, 95 miles north of Albany.
Earlier this year, he was hailed by his fire department for his life-saving actions after rescuing several stranded residents during severe flooding in August 2011. Since his unit had already been deployed to Afghanistan, his father, longtime Moriah Town Justice Brian Venne, accepted the award on his son's behalf.
"We are devastated, like everyone else, over these events," Port Henry Fire Chief James Hughes told the Press-Republican of Plattsburgh.
"He was an outstanding firefighter, a perfect gentleman. You couldn't ask for a better person, better son; he was an overall good and decent human being."
Jayne was from the Corning area in Steuben County in the Southern Tier, 75 miles south of Rochester. His father, Paul Jayne, told local media outlets that his family is leaving Tuesday for Dover, Del., to meet the military plane bringing their son's body back to the United States.
WGRZ-TV said Gornewicz graduated in 2003 from Alden High School, 20 miles east of Buffalo, and graduated last year from Buffalo State College with a bachelor's degree in industrial technology.
Funeral arrangements for the three were pending.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo ordered all flags on New York state buildings to be lowered to half-staff on Wednesday in honor of the soldiers.
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