A Kaiserslautern, Germany-based soldier has been identified by the Pentagon as the GI killed in a suicide bomb attack at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, on the day Vice President Dick Cheney was visiting the base.
Pfc. Daniel Zizumbo, 27, was killed Tuesday in the attack, which also killed a South Korean soldier, a U.S. contractor, five Afghan civilians and the bomber, the military said.
Zizumbo was assigned to the 1st Cargo Transfer Company, 191st Ordnance Battalion, 29th Support Group, 21st Theater Support Command, the Pentagon said late Wednesday night.
A memorial ceremony has been scheduled for 4 p.m. Tuesday at Daenner Community Chapel on Daenner Kaserne in Kiaserslautern.
Afghan officials said the blast caused significantly higher casualties — more than 20 dead — than the U.S. military reported. There still is no explanation or confirmation of the differing counts.
Family and friends in Chicago are remembering Zizumbo as a tough man on his second stint in the military. According to the Chicago Tribune, family members said he joined the Marines at age 17 after graduating high school. He left the Corps four years later, and looked for jobs at Chicago-area airports before enlisting in the Army.
Daniel Zizumbo’s mother, Julia, was upset by the decision.
“He didn’t need to go to the Army,” she was quoted as saying to the Tribune. “I always provided for him and his siblings. I always wanted something better for my children.”
A funeral service in Chicago has been set for next week, she said.
