Dimitri was born on January 25, 1985. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the US Army in May 2002 with the MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) 19K - M1 Abrams tank crewmember. He trained for four months at Fort Knox, Kentucky, including basic training and tanker training.

His first assignment was an overseas base in Vilseck, Germany, where he was stationed from October 2002 to March 2005. There, Dimitri served as a loader on the Abrams tank, assisted the Company's First Sergeant, and maintained two HMMWVs for the Headquarters platoon. He was also selected as the Top Loader in the company in August 2003, and his skills helped his crew earn superior qualification, during training in preparation for deployment.

Dimitri successfully completed two rotations at the Combat Maneuver Training Center in Hohenfels, Germany, and was deployed to Iraq in October 2003. During his 6-month tour, he was stationed at Kirkuk Airbase, where he served as the command driver, gunner on the battalion XO's HMMWV, member of the Tactical Operations Center primary staff, and a rotation as an RTO. In addition, he volunteered for several medical operations that delivered medical supplies and escorted physicians to provide vital health care to the population.

After his return to Germany, Dimitri was selected to attend and completed the Primary Leadership Development Course in Grafenwoehr, Germany, in order to become a Non-Commissioned Officer. During PLDC, he achieved superior scores in evaluations and an average score of 93% on all examinations. In addition, he exhibited an elevated degree of professionalism, sound military intelligence, and admirable interpersonal skills that inspired confidence and respect among his peers.

In March 2005, Dimitri was reassigned to Fort Carson, Colorado, where he spent nine months training for his next deployment, spending time with family, and working on several personal projects. He dedicated a lot of time improving his truck and later bought a Nissan 300ZX to restore. In June 2005, he completed a rotation at the US Army National Training Center in California, where once again his exceptional skills as a tank crewmember contributed to earning Top Tank honors and superior gunnery qualifications. He also spent a lot of his time taking online courses to further his education, learn mechanics, and to qualify for a promotion to Sergeant.

In December 2005, Dimitri was deployed for a year on his second tour in Iraq. He was stationed in a small, hostile town near Balad and served as the gunner on the M1 Abrams and HMMWV. He died on February 24, 2006 at Balad Airbase at the age of 21. Although his life was cut short, he achieved more than most people at his age, earned various awards, and inspired everyone around him.

Dimitri was, first and foremost, an exemplary soldier, but also a loving son and grandson, a protective brother, and a wonderful person. He had a great sense of humor, a beautiful laugh, and a selfless nature. He respected everyone and encouraged and motivated everyone to be their absolute best. Now the world has been deprived of his dedication, affection, laughter, and talent.

In his own words, Dimitri was serving the world's best army and he believed he was helping in the effort to rebuild Iraq and make it more like the country he loved and left behind. He had no doubts that what he was doing is right.
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