"If there was a job to be done, Neil would get started with it and everyone else would blend in," Hackett said. " Neil was a leader." Santoriello , a platoon leader for Company A, 1st Battalion, 34th Armor, 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, died Aug. 13, 2004, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his mounted reconnaissance patrol vehicle near Khalidiyah in Al Anbar province in western Iraq.
During high school, Santoriello worked two summers in the office of U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Pa. Doyle attended the banquet where Santoriello was named Eagle Scout, scouting's highest award.
"I'm going to look forward to seeing what Neil does in the future," Hackett said to Doyle at the time, "because one of these days he's going to have [your] job."
Santoriello was one of nine ROTC applicants selected from 150 applicants for $20,000 annual tuition scholarships at Dickinson College.
A political science major, he quickly assumed leadership roles in the Army ROTC, being named executive officer, or second in command of the cadets.
"That's the toughest job because you've got to lead your peers and enforce what the commander wants done," said Lt. Col. Mark N. Mazarella, former director of Army ROTC at Dickinson. "You could count on him to get the job done."
Santoriello was commissioned in the Army in June 2002 after graduation. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. He leaves behind a wife.
