Drexel Navy ROTC graduate Lt. Christopher Mosko was posthumously awarded a Bronze Star Medal for valor and a Purple Heart after he was killed April 26 while serving in Afghanistan.
Mosko, 28, was conducting combat operations in the Nawa District of Ghazni Province when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb during patrol. According to NATO, Mosko was one of three U.S. service members killed in the explosion.
Under the orders of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, flags on New York state government buildings were flown at half-staff May 2 in honor of Mosko.
“I join with all New Yorkers in mourning the loss of Lt. Mosko,” Cuomo said. “We will be forever grateful for the service and sacrifice of this New Yorker. I send my deepest sympathies to his family, friends and fellow sailors.”
Mosko commanded an explosives ordinance disposal platoon with Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force, Afghanistan. His unit is responsible for locating, identifying and disabling all types of explosive ordinance in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, fighting the global War on Terror.
John Mosko, Lt. Mosko’s father, wrote about his son’s passing in his business blog, which can be read at johnmosko.wordpress.com.
“He was a great man in so many ways. We loved him and cherished him, and now we will grieve him,” Mosko wrote.
Lt. Mosko was born in Philadelphia and moved to Wisconsin, where he went to high school at Eau Claire Memorial High School.
After graduating from Eau Claire in 2002, Mosko attended Drexel University, where he began working toward his bachelor’s degree in commerce and engineering in the LeBow College of Business. Mosko enrolled in the Navy ROTC program at the University of Pennsylvania his freshman year.
After Mosko’s death, his father published on his blog a letter that he had written to his son upon his graduation from Drexel.
“I want you to know how proud I am of your accomplishments. You have shown the ability to achieve, and you have learned that it takes hard work and unerring integrity. Sometimes you have had to learn this the hard way, but the results speak for themselves. You have gained a great education, and you have attained your goals as you head into your Navy career,” Mosko wrote in his letter to his son, dated May 12, 2007.
Mosko is survived by his wife, Amanda; his father; his mother, Gayle; his brother, Nate; and his sister, Meredith.
“We are deeply saddened to hear about the loss of one of our own,” Drexel President John A. Fry was quoted as saying in a Drexel press release issued May 1. “Christopher’s service to our country was exemplary, and he was a source of great pride to Drexel. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this most difficult time.”
A memorial service for Mosko, hosted by Drexel’s Office of Student-Veteran Services, will be held May 17 at the Amory on the University City Campus.