Second Lt. Michael R. Girdano, Class of 2007, was killed Aug. 1 in Asadabad, Chowkay Valley, Afghanistan, when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device.  Girdano died while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom mission with Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas. The 23-year-old Engineer officer from Apollo, Penn., had been deployed to Afghanistan with his unit since June. He is survived by his parents, Robert and Cynthia Girdano his sister Tina, who is an Airman 1st Class stationed at McConnell Air Force Base in Kentucky and brother Nunzio Girdano, a 2003 graduate of Apollo-Ridge High School,dreamed of attending the U.S. Military Aacademy since a visit to West Point when he was in sixth grade. “It was always his dream -- West Point,” said Nate Bertino, a close friend since grade school. “He was going for his dreams. He was proud of where he was.”

Proceeds from the 2LT Michael R. Girdano bracelet will be donated to the Michael Girdano Scholarship.