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Eric Engman/News-MinerA soldier is reflected in the glass as he looks at photographs on display Wednesday at a dedication ceremony for 21 Fort Wain-wright soldiers who were killed in action in Afghanistan. The l/25th Stryker Brigade Combat Team Operation Enduring Freedom Memorial Ceremony and Dedication took place at Monterey Lake Memorial Park on Fort Wainwright.Memorial remembers soldiers killed in AfghanistanBy DOROTHY CHOMICZdchomicz@newsminer. comThe photos stood arrayed in three neat rows, arranged in a semi-circle in front of a phalanx of chairs. Twenty-one faces gaze steadily out of identical black frames, each draped with a set of dog tags that wink in the bright morning sunlight. Each face, while distinctly different from the other, ig as at the same time strikingly similar. Many appear almost painfully young, an unlined canvas of hope and promise. Others show the wisdom and wear acquired through years of toil and service to their country. All, however, wear almost identical expressions of pride and determination, and all died serving their country.These 21 men, killed in action during the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division’s year long deployment to Afghanistan, were honored with a memorial ceremony at Fort Wainwright’s Monterey Lake Memorial Park Wednesday morning. Hundredsgathered to witness the dedication of a granite centerpiece dedicated to the Stryker brigadeand the unveiling of individual markers bearing the name of each fallen soldier.Major General Raymond Palumbo, Commanding General U.S. Army Alaska, addressed the families, friends, fellow soldiers and members of the community who came to pay tribute to the soldiers’ courage and sacrifice.“Ladies and gentlemen, what we do here today is a good thing. It’s a positive thing. For some, it’s painful, for itmakes us think about someone who we physically and emotionally want back in our lives. And that’s understandable. For others, perhaps those of you who didn’t really know directly any of our 21 fallen arrayedPlease see MEMORIAL. Page A6Eric Engman/News-MinerThe firing party stands at ease near a memorial bench as they wait for the Firing of the Volleys Wednesday during the memorial service.Eric Engman/News-MinerCol. Todd Wood, commander of the 1725th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, speaks Wednesday while honoring the 21 fallen soldiers who were killed in action in Afghanistan.
Newspaper Details
Fairbanks Daily News Miner
Fairbanks, Alaska, US
Thu, May 17, 2012
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Neta S.
AK, USA 12 Aug 2020
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