The body of an Army staff sergeant killed two weeks ago in Afghanistan was returned to his native Georgia Thursday morning.
A plane bearing the body of Staff Sgt. Alexander G. Povilaitis of Dawsonville arrived at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport shortly before 10 a.m. Thursday. A motorcade took the soldier's casket to Patterson's Oglethorpe Hill funeral home on Peachtree Road.
Jeff Goodiel, state captain of the Patriot Guard Riders, said over 50 members of his organization were on hand at the airport Thursday morning “to stand in honor of Staff Sgt. Povilaitis’ life and service, to say thank you for all he’s given to this country and our families, and to be here in support of his family as they face this dark day.”
Povilaitis' funeral will be at noon Saturday at Oglethorpe Hill, with burial at 2 p.m. Saturday at Georgia National Cemetery in Cherokee County.
Povilaitis was described by his former wife in Cobb County as a good man and a good father who rejoined the military in his 40s because he wanted to give back to his country.
The soldier died May 31 in Kandahar province of wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device, according to the Department of Defense.
The 47-year-old played football and wrestled for Cross Keys High School in Atlanta as a youth, his ex-wife Kim Povilaitis told Channel 2 Action News. He was assigned to 14th Engineer Battalion, 555th Engineer Brigade, and stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state.
Kim Povilaitis said she and Alexander had two sons and a 2-year-old granddaughter, who live in Kennesaw, and that he loved to ride motorcycles, hunt and fish. His present wife and stepson and stepdaughter live in Washington state, she said.
Unit record show Alexander Povilaitis entered the Army in February 1984, and he served three years as a radio operator. He had a break in service until March 2008, when he enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve.
On Sept. 23, 2008, he re-entered the active duty and reported to Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., for more training. He was twice deployed to Iraq from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, and then was transferred to the base in Washington state in June 2011.
Povilaitis deployed with his new unit to Afghanistan in July 2011 on his first deployment to Afghanistan. He was a decorated solider with medals including the Bronze Star and three Army Commendation Medals.
Kim Povilaitis said her former spouse had worked in construction, pouring concrete on some of the area’s biggest projects, including Turner Field, the Mall of Georgia and Centennial Olympic Park.
Staff photographer John Spink contributed to this article.
About the Author
