PHS Grad Killed in Afghanistan To Be Honored at Veterans Park

The Poway community will celebrate the birthday of a Poway High School graduate who was killed in Afghanistan last December at the unveiling of his tile on the Wall of Honor at Poway Veterans Park.

March 1 is the birthday of Kenny Necochea Jr., an Army specialist and 2007 graduate of Poway High. His tile will be unveiled during a public ceremony that starts at 1:30 on March 5 at the park on the corner of Adrian and Midland streets.

Service members in full-dress uniform will escort the Necochea family to the park, where a flag that was presented at Necochea's memorial service at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery will be raised, said Don Stonesipher of the Poway Veterans Committee.

After the flag is raised, Necochea's tile will be unveiled and cake and coffee will be served celebrating his birthday.

"We want it to be a celebration of his life, not a memorial service," Stonesipher said.

Necochea was killed on Dec. 12, 2010, in the Afghan province of Kandahar along with five other U.S. soldiers after insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device, according to the Department of Defense. All six were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.