Special Agent Bonacasa’s parents, Diana and Vincent, receive medal for their late son,
from Col. Howard Wagner
TOWN OF NEWBURGH – The families of American heroes, Tech Sgt. Joseph Lemm and Staff Sgt. Louis Bonacasa, who were killed during “outside the wire” human intelligence missions being conducted in Bagram, Afghanistan on December 21, 2015, were honored with the posthumous awards at the Stewart Air Guard Base on Saturday.
Both men, elevated posthumously to the rank of special agent, were killed as they defended their comrades from a suicide bomber with an improvised explosive device while on mission. They were the second and third members of the New York State Air National Guard to be killed in combat after 9/11, after the death of Staff Sgt. T.J. Lobraico Jr. in September, 2013.
Col. Howard Wagner, current commander of the 105th Airlift Wing at Stewart, said when tasked with presenting the medals to their families, he took some time to research, and reflect, on the meaning of heroism.
“We hear the term used for so many people and so many actions,” said Wagner. “So, what exactly is a hero? Stepping forward to save their teammates, to shield them from harm, rather than stepping back to try to save themselves. That is a hero. They did it right and we recognize that here today.”
Brig. Gen. Timothy LaBarge, who was base commander at the time of the deaths of Lemm and Bonacasa, said he remembered feeling a sense of pride the day the two men’s bodies were brought home from overseas. That pride, which had been a confusing feeling at the time, came back with clarity as the medals were being presented to the men’s families.
“I remember thinking this is a very strange emotion; why do I feel proud?” asked LaBarge “The pride doesn’t make the pain go away. The proud doesn’t bring Joseph and Louis back yet, paradoxically, there was a lot of pride there that night, and I wasn’t sure why. I was feeling an enormous sorrow that night, but the pride was there also because of the courageous action and the way that they performed. Do these medals, or that paradoxical answer of their courage, does it make the pain go away? It most certainly does not, but it does help to explain the sorrow combined with the pride, and at least for me personally that tells me that I was then, and continue to be today, in the presence of people who honor me with their courage.”
Commander of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations Keith Givens, who was on the same task force as Lemm and Bonacasa, agreed with LaBarge saying the overall demeanor of the entire 105th Airlift Wing, during the medal presentation Saturday, was one of pride. Givens said the Bronze Star with Valor, awarded to both men’s families, especially represents the level of heroics the two men were engaged in on that day.
“No military member wakes up in the morning and says I want earn a Bronze Star,” said Givens. “It’s actually a pretty rare medal, but to get it with valor means that, in that very last moment, you did something very heroically which both of these heroes did right before the attack.”
In addition to the Bronze Star with Valor, both Tech Sgt. Lemm and Staff Sgt. Bonacasa were awarded the Purple Heart, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Combat Action Medal, New York State Conspicuous Service, the New York State Conspicuous Service Star, the New York State Medal for Merit and the New York State Long and Faithful Service Award.
