All Gave Some….Some Gave All

The room was filled with Soldiers coming to pay their respects to the fallen. Red Bull Soldiers were everywhere but so were Soldiers from other units; identified by their patch. In the back of the room, there were tables set up for each fallen Soldier. Each table held a picture of the Soldier and an ammo can to send a note to the family. A video of pictures continued to play to give us a peek at these Soldiers in their lives both military and civilian.

We all sat or stood quietly, waiting for the service to begin. Similar to the service I attended previously, Soldiers got up and spoke about their friends. The stories brought laughter and tears and gave a picture of the wonderful attributes of these men.

A portion of Chaplain Lotzer’s remarks from tonight:


“Today is also a Time to Remember: You and I will never forget these brothers who gave their life. That is apparent in the tears shed here today. But what we choose to remember about our friends will indeed shape the men and women we will become and the legacies we will leave.

I encourage you to remember the heroism of the MPs the night of 16 July 2009, remember the professionalism of the first responders to this attack and the courage they showed, remember the dedicated medical professionals who fought so hard to do the impossible and save these lives.

I know I will always remember the terrible and holy privilege of being with SPC Wilcox and SPC Drevnick in their final moments, of holding their head and whispering that we are proud of them, that their parents and families love them…that God loves them and that this is not the end.

Yes choose to remember the best of SPC Wertish, SPC Wilcox, and SPC Drevnick and like LT Jergenson demonstrated, imitate those qualities in yourself. Make the memories of these men, both how they lived and how they died, a part of the legacy you leave behind.”

At the conclusion, the First Sergeant conducted roll call. I have been fortunate to get to know this man and I admired the strength that he conducted this mission.

Do not doubt the tragedy that hit us last week will only make us stronger and that much more of a force to reckon with.

Here is the website from tonight's memorial service http://www.theredbulls.org/article209.

Some of the pictures from the site.




Major General Nash leaving a coin.