A CLOSER LOOK

A memorial service for Andrew Quasnitschka will be held Saturday, April 11, at 10 a.m, at Lake Region High School in Naples. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, 825 College Blvd., Suite 102, PMB 609, Oceanside, CA 92057. Arrangements by Raymond-Wentworth Funeral Home, 8 Elm St., Bridgton. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.andrewsgreenleaf.com.

When Andrew Quasnitschka hurt his shoulder during his junior season on the Lake Region High School football team, he could have called it quits, could have packed up his things and waited to heal for his senior year.

But instead, said his coach, Chuck Hamaty, Quasnitschka stayed with the team as a manager, a testament to his dedication to the team and his friends.

“There was a two-way starter, lugging balls and doing laundry. He did that with the enthusiasm that he played,” said Hamaty.

Quasnitschka, a 2006 graduate from Bridgton, died last week in a single-car accident just outside of San Antonio, Texas, where he was receiving treatment for injuries suffered in Iraq. A lance corporal and machine gunner in the U.S. Marine Corps, Quasnitschka was 21.

A military funeral was held Tuesday in San Antonio. A memorial service will be held Saturday, April 11, at 10 a.m, at Lake Region High School in Naples. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.andrewsgreenleaf.com.

According to Tom Vinger, a spokesman from the Texas Department of Public Safety, Quasnitschka was driving eastbound on Interstate 10 near Boerne, Texas, just north of San Antonio, at around 2:20 a.m. on April 1. His Chevy pickup left the road and struck a large tree in the median before catching fire. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and a positive identification was made later during an autopsy. Investigators speculate Quasnitschka may have fallen asleep.

At the time, Quasnitschka was being treated at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio for injuries suffered in Iraq. While on duty overseas, Quasnitschka’s forearm was hurt when he was hit by a flare that accidentally went off and embedded in his arm. He was sent to Iraq after enlisting in the Marines following graduation.

During his lengthy tenure as coach of the Lakers, Hamaty saw many of his players go on to the military. It is tough to send anyone you love off to war, because you know the high cost it can exact, he said. But he was proud nonetheless of having Quasnitschka represent the United States.

“If you have to go to war, you want the right people. I was very proud of Andrew. You want good people like Andrew,” said Hamaty.

Zach Figoli, Quasnitschka’s friend since the sixth grade and fellow member of the Lake Region High Class of 2006, said Quasnitschka was a great friend who taught those around him to jump headlong into life.

“Andrew didn’t have any fear. We dirt biked a lot together, and he would take any jump. He was never going too fast,” said Figoli. “He taught me so much. He pushed everyone around him.”

In Quasnitschka, Hamaty saw a young man on a journey to find out who he was in this world. When the Marine was home, he would stop by and see his old coach, who found that he was well on his way.

“For whatever reason, he wasn’t given the chance to complete that journey,” he said.

Andrew Quasnitschka, 21, a 2006 Lake Region High School graduate, was killed April 1 in a single-car accident in Texas, where the Marine was receiving treatment for injuries suffered while on duty in Iraq.