A public memorial service has been set for the late Sgt. Jonathan "Nathan" Gollnitz.
According to the Rev. Roger Eimers, on Saturday, Oct. 6 a memorial service will take place at 2 p.m. at First Baptist Church, 876 Central Ave., Dunkirk.
"We'll share more details as they become available," he said.
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Sgt. Gollnitz's father Allen, mother Kimberly, ex-wife and 4-year-old son Lukas Conrad Gollnitz, left Thursday morning for Dover Air Force Base to receive the body. Sgt. Gollnitz was killed in Afghanistan earlier this week. The Pentagon hasn't released information on his death yet, but NATO officials in Afghanistan say that two service members in the U.S.-led coalition were killed in a suicide attack Wednesday during a patrol in an eastern province.
Sgt. Gollnitz enlisted in the Navy after graduating from Levant Christian School in 2003. Before his senior year there, he attended Fredonia Central School. After five years in the Navy, he joined the Army. He was deployed to Afghanistan earlier this year.
Sgt. Gollnitz is the second active military member from Fredonia to die since the war on terror began. In 2004, Army Spc. Philip Witkowski died May 7 as the result of an injury he suffered in Afghanistan on April 30. A Buffalo native, Witkowski graduated from Fredonia High School in 1998 and had moved to Washington state, where he lived with his wife and two sons.
Sgt. Gollnitz is the first combat casuality from Chautauqua County in 2012. Last year Sgt. Kevin White of Westfield was killed May 2, and Lance Cpl. Aaron Swanson of Lakewood was killed Feb. 7. Both were serving in Afghanistan.