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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, May 27, 2007

Schofield soldier mourned

By Mary Vorsino
Advertiser Staff Writer

Casey Zylman

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Casey Zylman tried college. But two years into his degree, the kid who had excelled in high school as a student leader and a baseball star still didn't know what he wanted to do with his life.

So one day, he decided to join the Army.

"I kind of balked for a minute," said father Randy Zylman, of Coleman, Mich., a small town two hours from Detroit. "But then I drove him to the recruiting office and I told them I backed him 100 percent."

Zylman was sent to Schofield Barracks after basic training, and in August 2006 was deployed to Iraq.

Shortly after the 22-year-old private first class arrived there, his year-long tour was extended by three months.

On Friday, more than halfway through his deployment, Zylman died from injuries he had suffered a day earlier when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle, the Department of Defense said.

At the Zylman home yesterday, people from all over Coleman dropped by to pay their respects and remember a young man so many saw as a budding leader.

Friends also frequented his my space.com Web page, posting thoughts, condolences and memories.

"They're all just devastated. It's tough," said Randy Zylman. "We're all still kind of in a daze."

Zylman graduated from Coleman High School in 2003.

"He was just a wonderful kid," Coleman High's principal, Mary Pitchford, told the Detroit News.

She said Zylman served on the student council. Teachers knew him as caring and always polite, she said.

Zylman last saw his family in November 2006, when he was able to come home to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Zylman is survived by his parents and an older sister. Services were pending yesterday.

Reach Mary Vorsino at mvorsino@honoluluadvertiser.com.