A funeral will be held on Saturday for a U.S. Marine from Oakdale who was killed when two military helicopters collided near Yuma, Arizona on Wednesday night is a Connecticut native.
Lt. Col. Thomas Budrejko, a 37-year-old graduate of Montville High School, was killed when two helicopters collided in midair during a training exercise, according to KGET.
A mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 17, at St. Mary's Church, 626 Willard Ave., Newington. He will be laid to rest with full military honors in Sacred Heart Cemetery, New Britain. Relatives and friends are invited to call from 4 to 8 p.m. on Friday, March 16, at the Newington Memorial Funeral Home, 20 Bonair Ave., Newington.
Donations may be made in Tom's memory to the Semper Fi Fund or the Pro-Life organization of your choice.
Budrejko was a 1996 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, and served in Kuwait and received the Air Medal w/ Combat “V” and Strike/Flight numeral 19, and the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal w/ Combat “V” and 3 gold stars.
He had already served two tours in Afghanistan and was training for a third tour of duty in Afghanistan when he was killed, his aunt said. He was set to deploy in April.
Budrejko comes from a military family. His father was a Navy pilot who worked as an engineer for Hamilton Sundstrand. While in Connecticut, he helped develop a new new fuel control system for military helicopter engines. It's a system that later helped save his son's life when his chopper was hit by enemy fire in Iraq.
Lt. Col. Budrejko leaves a wife, Dianna, and a 2-year-old son, Andrew.
