A Second Memorial

A memorial for our two fallen soldiers from Echo Troop was held on September 5th at 1900. Just like last time, the tiny stage held the two soldiers’ inverted rifles, helmets, boots, and dog tags. The second memorial was much harder then the first. The same guys who were there consoling their buddies over the death of the four soldiers a few weeks ago, were now gone themselves.

Our Battalion Commander spoke again, along with the Echo Troop Commander and the Cavalry platoon leader. Upon hearing the platoon leader speak, you could see how close these guys were to each other. These guys not only lived and worked together, but they also fought together, faced danger together, hurt together, prayed together, loved together, and died together. Our much-loved chaplain was here this time to speak. His words were comforting and dear. He read a poem that struck a nerve in all of us.

Freedom Isn’t Free

I watched the flag pass by one day.

It fluttered in the breeze

A young soldier saluted it,

and thenHe stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform

So young, so tall, so proud

With hair cut square and eyes alert

He'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought how many men like him

Had fallen through the years.

How many died on foreign soil?

How many mothers' tears?

How many Pilots' planes shot down?

How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?

No Freedom isn't free

I heard the sound of taps one night,

When everything was still.

I listened to the bugler play

And felt a sudden chill.

I wondered just how many times

That taps had meant "Amen"

When a flag had draped a coffin

of a brother or a friend.

I thought of all the children,

Of the mothers and the wives,

Of fathers, sons and husbands

With interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard at the

bottom of the sea

Of unmarked graves in Arlington

No, Freedom isn't free.


As the two soldiers’ names were called out during the Roll Call, the pain and grief in the faces of those left behind permeated the room. Tears were in the eyes of most everyone present as many of the fallen soldiers’ closest friends fought to maintain military bearing. These guys were there when their country needed them, there when their fellow soldiers needed them, courageous soldiers and friends till the end.

Thank you Lord for the lives of these two remarkable men, we will do our best to honor them by never forgetting the legacy they leave behind. We will remember them for the rest of our lives. As our Battalion Commander said, they are now in a better place securing the objective there for all of us.

God Bless these soldiers and their families.