Army Staff Sgt. Matthew A. Pucino

Died November 23, 2009 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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34, of Cockeysville, Md.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group of the Maryland Army National Guard, Glen Arm, Md.; died Nov. 23 in Pashay Kala, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.

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Comforted buddy after he was shot in combat

The Associated Press

Matthew Pucino could withstand the rigors of the Army — but he couldn’t sneak a pocketknife past security at Walt Disney World.

His brother-in-law, Phil Haglof, said Pucino was initially asked to leave the knife in his car, but then tried to sneak it in through another entrance. This time, a security guard with a gold Mickey Mouse badge caught him.

“We always made fun of him that this Green Beret was busted by a Mickey cop,” Haglof told a crowd at Pucino’s memorial service.

Pucino, 34, of Cockeysville, Md., was killed by a roadside bomb Nov. 23 in Pashay Kala, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the Maryland National Guard in Glen Arm, Md.

The special forces soldier was remembered as a selfless person who gave of himself for others. Army Sgt. 1st Class Dan Dosier recalled the time he was shot during a raid. Pucino held his hand and told jokes as they rode back to the base hospital.

Pucino also donated two pints of blood for his friend — and then hopped into the helicopter so he could head back to the war zone.

“This left Matt pretty weak but that’s the kind of friend he was,” Dosier said.

Pucino is survived by his parents, Albert and Kathryn; two sisters, Lisa Haglof and Melissa Pucino; and a niece and three nephews.