Tragic heroes return
They came home heroes.
The bodies of two fallen soldiers, one from Long Island, the other from New Jersey — both killed in a fierce firefight in Afghanistan — were flown to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware yesterday.
In a heartbreaking dawn ceremony, the flag-draped coffins of Sgt. Ronald Kubik, 21, of Brielle, NJ, and Sgt. Jason Santora, 25, of Massapequa Park, LI, were carried off an Air Force C-17 transport at 6:45 a.m.
The Pentagon said the team leaders died Friday in Logar province.
The men were on a mission to target a compound believed to be a Taliban terror nest when they were ambushed.
The Pentagon said the gunfire came from “different points” and included “heavy machine-gun fire.”
“My son loved to live life on the edge — he loved being a Ranger,” said Gary Santora. “He loved the rush, and he loved his country.”
The younger Santora enlisted in 2006 and was on his fourth tour — the second in Afghanistan.
Kubik’s best friend, Max Kuhn, said the tragic dead heroes had become pals and the younger soldier “really looked up” to Santora.
Santora’s sister, Gina, 21, said he was “the kind of big brother every girl should have.”
Kubik’s devastated mom, Eileen Daly, 56, said her son “lived his ideals,” and was on his third tour of duty.
“He’s an American hero,” she said.
Friend Rokki Gray always considered Kubik, who enlisted in 2007, “invincible.”
Both soldiers were posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Meritorious Service Medal.
Kubik is survived by sisters Amy and Mary.
“My brother was my best friend, my rock,” Amy, 25, said.
Added Mary, 28, “Ronnie was an individual who saw potential in everyone. His purpose was to help others reach that potential.”
“He was the best boy I could have asked for,” said Santora Sr. “If I could trade places with him, I would.”
Additional reporting by Leonard Greene and
Phil Helsel
