Brent Dunkleberger remembered by family

SUNBURY — When friends and loved ones gather next week to honor Sgt. Brent Dunkleberger, they will remember the heroism he exhibited by sacrificing his life while serving his country in the Army.

But relatives of the fallen soldier will remember him as a loving husband and father of four, a joker who wanted nothing more than to make those around him smile, said Christine Herrold, of Sunbury, who is a sister of Sgt. Dunkleberger's widow, Lisa Weyandt Dunkleberger.

The couple had three children, Belinda, 11; Kelli, 5; and Zoe, 2. Sgt. Dunkleberger was also the father of Alexander C. Enright.

The funeral for the 29-year-old soldier — killed by a rocket-propelled grenade attack Dec. 12 in Mosul, Iraq — will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the West Perry Middle School, Elliotsburg.

"My sister and those girls meant everything to him," Mrs. Herrold said Wednesday night.

One of the chief reasons the resident of New Bloomfield, Perry County, joined the military was to earn more money to support his family, Mrs. Herrold said. "Everything was about his family," she said. "He was what a lot of women would want as a father and a husband."

He served a 15-month tour of duty in Iraq that began two weeks before the birth of his youngest daughter, Zoe. He died 41 days into his second tour of duty.

Always one to be quick with a smile and laugh, Sgt. Dunkleberger did the best he could to reassure his loved ones while he was serving in Iraq.

"He'd say, 'Don't worry, I'll be back. If anything is coming at me, I'll just stand sideways,'" Mrs. Herrold said.

She said that the first time she met Sgt. Dunkleberger, she thought she was shy. By the second time they encountered each other, she'd learned otherwise. And he could never pass up the chance to tease his sister-in-law, she said.

"When I'd call them in Texas, he'd bang the phone on the counter and say, 'Oh, it's a bad connection,'" Mrs. Herrold said. "He played jokes on me all the time."

But Sgt. Dunkleberger wasn't afraid to be the focus of the joke either. During New Bloomfield's New Year's Eve celebration in 2000, he donned a cloth diaper and nothing else and ran around dressed as Baby New Year.

"He always knew how to make everyone laugh," she said. "Even if it was just by running into the kitchen in his socks to slide and yell, 'Popcorn!'"

With his death just two weeks before Christmas, the Herrolds still have the Christmas presents they'd planned to send to him. Mrs. Herrold said these included a pillowcase with Tinkerbell designs, made by her daughter, Angel, and a small teddy bear that was a present from her son, Steven. Angel used the Tinkerbell design because she knew Sgt. Dunkleberger had a soft spot for that Disney character.

As for Steven, he'd told his mother, "I've lost my favorite uncle."

"We miss him, but his spirit is still with us," Mrs. Herrold said.

"He didn't want to be known as a hero. He just felt like he was doing his job," Mrs. Herrold said.

She said Sgt. Dunkleberger had once remarked that when he died, he wanted a simple funeral.

"He wanted everyone to dress comfortable, not cry, say goodbye, then go have a beer," Mrs. Herrold said.

His funeral will be more formal, because it will feature full military honors.

From the Daily Item

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