FORT BRAGG — Some households clung to one another as tears have been wiped away.
Others remained somber as bagpipes performed “Superb Grace.”
All stood in silence because the names of greater than 60 troopers who served with third Special Forces Group have been referred to as out.
The households joined the group Wednesday at Fort Bragg to recollect the 64 troopers killed since 2002 whereas deployed through the International Struggle on Terror.
The ceremony celebrated the lives of the fallen troopers, stated Col. David Haskell, deputy commander of the third Special Forces Group.
Haskell stated he served alongside lots of the fallen within the valleys and mountains of Afghanistan and personally knew 9 of the fallen, lots of whom volunteered to serve throughout a time of conflict and knew the “hazards of their chosen career.”
“Right this moment is one ceremony, one remembrance, sooner or later, however I promise all of you that on this group, we bear in mind on daily basis,” Haskell advised the Gold Star households in attendance at Tuesday’s ceremony.
“We are able to by no means repay you, solely honor you and keep our solemn promise that we are going to always remember your family members, and we’ll always remember their sacrifice,” he stated. “Your power is an inspiration for us all, and also you encourage us to stay as much as the values these troopers fought so laborious to guard.”
Haskell stated the stones that line the third Special Forces Group’s memorial stroll symbolize greater than the names etched on them.
“We don’t simply see stones,” he stated. “We see associates. We see teammates. We see brothers. We see fathers, and we see sons. We bear in mind their friendship, their tales, their braveness and our shared experiences in fight.”
Capt. Marcus Smith, chaplain, prayed that these remembering the fallen troopers would “recommit” themselves to the “classes of life and sacrifice” that the troopers taught.
“Might we who stay, the women and men of valor, take into coronary heart the easiest of those examples from these males who we memorialize right here right now,” Smith prayed.
The troopers remembered Wednesday have been:
• Chief Warrant Officer 2 Stanley Harriman – March 2, 2002, Afghanistan.
• Sgt. 1st Class Peter Tycz II – June 12, 2002, Afghanistan.
• Sgt. 1st Class Mitchell Lane – Aug. 29, 2003, Afghanistan.
• Workers Sgt. Paul Sweeney – Oct. 30, 2003, Afghanistan.
• Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bruce Value – Might 15, 2044, Afghanistan.
• Capt. Daniel Eggers, Might 29, 2004, Afghanistan.
• Sgt. 1st Class Robert Mogensen, Might 29, 2004, Afghanistan.
• Workers Sgt Robert Goodwin – Sept. 20, 2004, Afghanistan.
• Workers Sgt. Tony Olaes – Sept. 20, 2004, Afghanistan.
• Sgt. Jason Palmerton – July 23, 2005, Afghanistan.
• Workers Sgt. Christopher Falkel – Aug. 8, 2005, Afghanistan.
• Capt. Jeremy Chandler – Aug. 11, 2005, Afghanistan.
• Sgt. 1st Class James Ochsner – Nov. 15, 2005, Afghanistan.
• Grasp Sgt. Anthony R.C. Yost – Nov. 19, 2005, Iraq.
• Chief Warrant Officer 2 Scott Dyer – Oct. 11, 2006, Afghanistan.
• Workers Sgt. Kyu Chay – Oct. 28, 2006, Afghanistan.
• Sgt. 1st Class William Brown – Nov. 6, 2006, Afghanistan.
• Sgt 1st Class Tung Nguyen – Nov. 14, 2006, Iraq.
• Sgt 1st Class Justin Monschke – Oct. 14, 2007, Iraq.
• Workers Sgt. Robert Miller – Jan. 25, 2008, Afghanistan.
• Workers Sgt. William Neil Jr. – March 22, 2008, Afghanistan.
• Sgt. Nicholas Robertson – April 3, 2008, from wounds suffered April 2 in Afghanistan.
• Workers Sgt. Marc Small – Feb. 13, 2009, Afghanistan.
• Workers Sgt. Jeremy Bessa – Feb. 20, 2009, Afghanistan.
• Grasp Sgt. David Harm – Feb. 20, 2009, Afghanistan.
• Capt. David Thompson – Jan. 29, 2010, Afghanistan.
• Workers Sgt. Kyle Warren – July 29, 2010, Afghanistan.
• Capt. Jason Holbrook – July 29, 2010, Afghanistan.
• Grasp Sgt. Benjamin Bitner – April 23, 2011, Afghanistan.
• Sgt. Aaron Blasjo – Might 29, 2011, Afghanistan.
• Sgt. 1st Class Martin Apolinar – Might 29, 2011, Afghanistan.
• Capt. Joseph Schultz – Might 29, 2011, Afghanistan.
• Workers Sgt. Brandon Eggleston – April 26, 2012, Afghanistan.
• Workers Sgt. Brandon Pepper – July 21, 2012, Afghanistan.
• Grasp Sgt. Gregory Trent – Aug. 8, 2012, from wounds suffered July 31 in Afghanistan.
• Sgt. 1st Class Riley Stephens – Sept. 28, 2012, Afghanistan.
• Workers Sgt. Justin Marquez – Oct. 6, 2012, Afghanistan.
• Warrant Officer 1 Joseph Schiro – Oct. 6, 2012, Afghanistan.
• Chief Warrant Officer 2 Michael Duskin – Oct. 23, 2012, Afghanistan.
• Capt. Andrew Pedersen-Keel – March 11, 2013, Afghanistan.
• Grasp Sgt. George Bannar Jr. – Aug. 20, 2013, Afghanistan.
• Workers Sgt. Daniel Lee – Jan. 15, 2014, Afghanistan.
• Spc. Christopher Landis – Feb. 10, 2014, Afghanistan.
• Sgt. 1st Class Roberto Skelt Jr. – Feb. 12, 2014, Afghanistan.
• Spc. John A. Pelham – Feb. 12, 2014, Afghanistan.
• Capt. Jason Jones – June 2, 2014, Afghanistan.
• Workers Sgt. Girard Gass Jr. – Aug. 3, 2014, Afghanistan.
• Sgt. 1st Class Michael Cathcart – Nov. 14, 2014, Afghanistan.
• Grasp Sgt. Pablo Ruiz III – Might 24, 2015, Afghanistan.
• Sgt. 1st Class Zachary Bannister – Oct. 17, 2016, Kenya.
• Warrant Officer 1 Shawn Thomas – Feb. 2, 2017, Niger.
• Workers Sgt. Logan Melgar – June 4, 2017, Mali.
• Sgt. 1st Class Jeremiah Johnson – Oct. 4, 2017, Niger.
• Workers Sgt. Bryan Black – Oct. 4, 2017, Niger.
• Workers Sgt. Dustin Wright – Oct. 4, 2017, Niger.
• Sgt. LaDavid Johnson – Oct. 4, 2017, Niger.
• Workers Sgt. Alexander Conrad – June 2, 2018, Somalia.
•Capt. Andrew Ross – Nov. 27, 2019, Afghanistan.
• Sgt. 1st Class Eric Emond – Nov. 27, 2019, Afghanistan.
• Sgt. 1st Class Joshua Beale – Jan. 22, 2019, Afghanistan.
Workers author Rachael Riley may be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.
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