Army corporal gives back

KHOST PROVINCE, Afghanistan – The Khost Provincial Reconstruction Team reached out to the Khost city Children of Hope orphanage by giving them wooden chests for the children to have at the foot of their beds Aug. 22.

The chests were not purchased on the local economy or contracted out, but hand-made by U.S. Army Cpl. Jerome Halaszynski, from McKeesport, Pa., Khost PRT security element, also known by his fellow military members as “Ski.”

The project was the brain child of U.S. Navy Cmdr. Cynthia Kuehner, from Bremerton, Wash., Khost PRT nurse practitioner, but once she handed the project over to Halaszynski, he ran with it.

“She had an idea, and I told her I would do it. She gave me a picture, and I took it from there. I estimated the size of their [beds] and kind of just worked backwards and tried to minimize the wood used,” said Halaszynski.

The chests took just under two weeks and about 50 hours of labor to make, Halaszynski said. He said the project inspired him to sacrifice his personal time after conducting daily missions to build them.

“I’ve been down and out a few times in my life, and there’s always been someone there to pick me up. In this case, with these orphans in the middle of Afghanistan, they don’t have that person there to pick them up and get them back on the road,” said Halaszynski.

This isn’t the first project Halaszynski has taken on. He’s made or fixed many items for the PRT to make other Soldiers lives a bit easier.

“Ski helps the guys have a sense of personal space in their room. It’s the one place on the [Forward Operating Base] they can go and have it set up the way they want it. Stuff like that improves morale,” said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. James Miller, from Littlestown, Pa., Khost PRT security element. “He does a lot around here for people; he really does go above and beyond his team leader duties. He’s got to worry about the people beneath him, and, on top of that, you can go and talk to him about something, and he takes the time to make it for you.”

Miller asked Halaszynski to build a desk for him after his broke and remembers the day he walked into his room to find a newly built desk waiting for him.

“Our squad went on a mission and got stuck because one of our vehicles rolled over, and when we got back, it was there all set up. I didn’t expect for it to be there,” said Miller. “He even built a flag holder on the top for the flag I had folded in my room. It’s the first flag flown at the start of our deployment and means a lot to me.”

Halaszynski attributes his passion for carpentry to one of his high school teachers, Michael Lock, from McKeesport High School, Pa., and the Youth Apprenticeship Program he participated in during his junior and senior years.

He also credits his generous nature to the positive influence of his parents James and Judith Halaszynski.

“I’ve seen my dad plenty of times go out of his way to help somebody, and that inspires me to do the same and help people,” said Halaszynski.