http://www.nwherald.com/2011/10/01/afte ... e/air1zuk/
After war, soldier’s final fight ends at home
By CHELSEA McDOUGALL - cmcdougall@shawmedia.com
Created: Sunday, October 2, 2011 5:30 a.m. CDT
CRYSTAL LAKE – Army Spc. Michael Vukovich had just finished fighting one war when he began the fight for his life.
One day after returning from a tour in Afghanistan, Vukovich, a Lake in the Hills native, was raced to the emergency room with severe chest pains. A few weeks later he would be diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer that eventually would take his life.
He passed away Friday in Chicago. He was 22 and a newlywed.
“You go and fight one war ... and you come home and have to fight another war and fight for your life all over again,” his wife, Alie Vukovich, said. “He didn’t get a break.”
Alie, 21, and Michael met more than two years ago at a local health club. Michael left for Army basic training 30 days later. Set up by mutual friends, the two dated long distance before becoming engaged on Christmas Eve in 2009.
“It’s hard to lose your other half,” Alie said, as her voice cracked through held-back tears. “To know that he’s gone forever is hard to wrap your mind around. We just completed each other so well. To know that that was ripped from me is hard.”
They planned to get married in August but pushed up the date and were married at Walter Reed Army Medical Center on May 26, just before Michael went into surgery.
“Literally 10 minutes after we got married he was whisked off to his surgery,” Alie said. “We waited long enough; we just wanted to be married.”
Michael joined the military in 2009. He did his basic training and was stationed at Fort Drum, N.Y., before being deployed to Afghanistan in 2010. He was a combat engineer. He returned in April.
Michael was home-schooled and finished his high school credits in 2005. Alie graduated from Crystal Lake South High School in 2008.
He is survived by a brother and sister, Matthew and Lauren Vukovich; his parents, Jon and Carrie Vukovich of Lake in the Hills; and other extended family.
His visitation will be from 3 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Davenport Family Funeral Home, 419 E. Terra Cotta Ave. in Crystal Lake. The funeral will be at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at Christian Fellowship Church of Crystal Lake, 3419 Walk Up Road, Crystal Lake.
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