I promised you all pictures of the memorial service for the crew members on board the chinook that was recently shot down here in Afghanistan. I was only able to get one picture approved.



The crew of CH-47D 89-00175 call sign Extortion 17 were men that I was honored to have worked with here in Afghanistan. Just a few hours ago at 0630 this morning we were able to have a small memorial here on the FOB honoring them.

The ceremony was held at the Task Force Knighthawk Headquarters Flag Pole. The flag stood at half mast as three staggered formations of solders were individually called to attention and then to parade rest. Around the sides of the small gathering stood a few hundred soldiers, all in their own micro formations. These small formations happened without any orders to do so. You see, every heart here was centered on giving every ounce of respect to these men whom they quite sincerely call brothers. Every bit of order and decency seemed to automatically happen without anyone choreographing it. Truly a beautiful sight to behold.

The three main formations consisted of the three companies of Task Force Knighthawk. In the middle and closest to the Flag was Bravo Company. It was from B Co that these hero's came from. B Co is made up of two National Guard units, one from Kansas and the other from Colorado. Both units lost their brothers on that fateful August 6th.

Directly in front of me was standing (at parade rest) a Staff Sergeant that was holding in his hand, behind his back, a rosary. Through the entire ceremony I noted him taking long drawn breaths and continuously and methodically moving his fingers over each bead in that rosary. I wish I was able to capture that on film as it was truly moving for me to see.

Amongst the micro formations surrounding the ceremony were formations of Czech Soldiers, Jordanian Soldiers and Afghan Soldiers. They too were all standing in properly arranged formations out of genuine respect.

The Ceremony began with the Chaplain giving a prayer and asking God to help heal the brokenhearted. It was a beautiful opening and already many in attendance were beginning to shed tears.

Following his prayer the three main formations were called to attention. They then were called to render a salute with "Present Arms!" This salute was mirrored by every person in uniform in attendance, to include the Czech, Jordanians, and Afghans. It was held in place while our National Anthem was played. This is where MY tears began.

After the National Anthem was played the Task Force Commander gave a brief speech. He spoke about how these men spent their careers honoring every facet of the Army Values: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. He gave examples of how each one of these men lived up to those values individually. They truly set the example in their daily lives and were indeed some of America's finest.

Following the Task Force Commander was B Co's Commander. Through a broken voice and tears streaming down his face he spoke of each of these men individually. Not just as solders, but as Fathers, sons, siblings, husbands, and to him personally.... friends. One such story he told was of the tattoo that CW4 Carter (the Co-pilot) had on his arm. It was a poem that said the following:

When I get to Heaven
To St. Peter I will tell
"Here I am reporting, sir!
I've spent my time in hell."

My heart crumbled when I heard those words, as I could honestly see him doing just that.

After B Co's Commander finished he was followed by five soldiers one at a time. Each one of them were the closest friends of each of the individual hero's. They shared stories of great times together, of how these men inspired them, and brought each of their unique personalities to brighten even the darkest of days. These stories were personal, so I am not going to share them here. They were meant for the friends and brothers in arms that served with these guys.

After these men shared their personal stories of their friends, no, BROTHERS, the Chaplain returned to give a brief sermon out of Psalms 62. Encouraging the soldiers there to seek strength from God, from each other, and from their families. The fight here is long from over.

Next was, and always is the most powerfully moving part of any Military Memorial for me personally. The roll call then 21 gun salute and the playing of taps.

For those of you that have never attended a Military Memorial the Roll Call is a tradition that goes way back to our beginning as an Army. You see, every day when you have the first formation of the day, it is for accountability. It's how NCO's and Commanders ensure they have all their guys accounted for. The Roll Call at a memorial service is conducted by an Officer or NCO calling out the names of their men. When the names are called Soldiers respond with "HERE Sergeant!!" When the NCO gets to the name of one of their soldiers lost, they wait for a response. Silence never sounds so loud or feels so heavy in that moment. They repeat the Soldiers rank, first name, and last name, and wait.....again.....silence. They then call out the soldiers rank, first name, middle initial, and last name one last time, as everybody longs to hear that "HERE Sergeant!". It never comes. In that last moment of silence you faintly hear in the rear a NCO say "Ready, Fire." BANG! "Ready, Fire." BANG! "Ready, Fire." BANG! Then the bugle begins playing taps.

I will freely admit by the time the Roll Call has begun, my eyes are misty. When that first volley of of the 21 Gun Salute sounds off I jump hard. Every time. I know it's coming but it still hits me like a ton of bricks. That is when the tears freely fall from my eyes. Taps has to be the most painfully moving sound for me to hear. It seems to never end as the litany of faces of friends and comrades I have lost appear in my minds eye one, by one, by one. Never Forgotten my brothers, never forgotten.

Immediately after Taps a beautiful thing happens that is uniquely Aviation. Four Helicopters flying in diamond formation conduct a fly over. This was done with an Apache flanked by two Blackhawks, and followed by a Chinook. When the formation got directly overhead the Chinook broke hard high and to the right. This symbolizes the accent into the heavens as it leaves the rest of it's formation. Stunning, moving, powerful, beautiful.

The next was the leaders of each of the military's present stepping up to the display in the picture posted and rendering their honors with a salute, a gift, and a moment of silence, before turning and paying respect to the close friends that spoke earlier in the ceremony. That concludes the official ceremony.

Still, the soldiers of Task Force Knighthawk are not finished. They form a line and one by one go up to the display and render their own personal respects.

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother!"

My friends of the Campfire, allow me to present my brothers in arms who gave their lives in duty so that we me may cherish the very freedoms we enjoy every day.

CW2 Brian Nichols - Pilot in Command.

CW4 David R. Carter - Pilot

SGT. Patrick "Hamby" Hamburger - Flight Engineer

SPC Alexander Bennet - Flight Engineer

SPC Spencer "Dunk" Duncan - Crew Chief.

May They Rest in Eternal Peace.

Whew............... You brought us there.....(swallowing hard)Speechless.

GOD Bless 'em


Mike

With a humble heart I thank you, all of you, that have and do serve and sacrifice for my freedom and that of my family.

With tears in my eyes my prayers once again for the brave men and their families.

HAJ, Thank you for sharing what is such a painful thing. It sounds like a fitting tribute to fallen heroes.

God Bless them and their families. You too HAJ.

JM

RIP, God bless them all.

Thank you HJA for your service and sharing these moments with us..."God Bless them,their families and their ultimate sacrifice to the country they loved,may you and the rest of your brothers stay safe....Amen."

With freely running tears I salute these brave men.

Thank you very much for the update. May they rest in peace. jorge

Thank you for sharing.

Thanks HAJ.

Moving and heartbreaking. I'm truly at a loss for words at the moment. Godspeed to the men, their families and those still in harms way.

Heaven must be in need of these heroes. God bless them and keep them.

Get home safe and thank you for all that you do for us.
Lest we forget.

Prayers on the way.

May the Lord bless and keep them and grant comfort to their loved ones.

Thanks for sharing HAJ.

Sgt. Patrick "Hamby" Hamburger grew up in Lincoln and graduated from the same high school I went to. Here are a few of the local write ups on him.

http://journalstar.com/news/local/military/article_988b7783-24db-5f56-ad02-29473211b3a7.html

http://journalstar.com/news/local/military/article_bc69d65a-6c32-53c7-bee8-d2b2e9257880.html



The dog handler for Seal Team 6 that was on that flight was also from Nebraska.

http://www.ktiv.com/story/15232249/update-south-sioux-city-navy-seal-killed-in-action

We are diminished. kwg

I shared this with my friends at Lightfighter.com HAJ. Thank you.

Those Men are in Good Company now. In the welcoming arms of our other Heroes. It's OK to cry now and I am.

My God bless them and you. May He bless all who serve.

Thank you for sharing your brothers with us. May they rest in peace and may God hold each one in His hands.

I have experienced the Final Roll Call firsthand and it is a soul-stirring moment.

Thank you again.

Ed

Thank you for sharing this. Brave warriors indeed who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country. We should try to be worthy, but I am not sure it is possible. Thank you for your service and I pray you and all our men and women in harm's way come home soon.

Thank you for sharing.

I just learned that a dear friend is old friends of the pilot's parents. I sent him this link. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks HAJ, for sharing this tribute. Tears and prayers flowing freely for fallen brothers, their families and loved ones, you and your brothers in arms. Be safe and godspeed, from an 'ol life support guy.

Kurt

Thanks HAJ, for putting that together in tribute to these fallen warriors. In doing so, you have put faces to those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our Country. God bless you, them, their families, friends, and fellow warriors.

RIP.

Thanks HAJ.

Couldn't type when I read it earlier, but as the others say, thanks for sharing with us. And God bless all of the soldiers and their families involved in this and all of our soldiers period, both active, reserve and retired... it is for them that we can still speak english.

Had to take a minute to clear my eyes before posting.
Thank you so much for that. Your post was as well done as the ceremony. I hate that either was necessary but love that both were done. Had to take another break there. Please spread the word that there are those who appreciate what those over there are doing.

Once again reminded of how thankful I am that men like this once lived. Best way to honor their sacrifice is to publicly recgonize it. Good post Some might big boots to refill for sure.

Thanks for the post, HAJ.

R.I.P. Men.

They are given the highest honors by your account - beautifully done - we are grateful for this. Thank you HAJ.

May God Bless and Keep them All.

Thank You H-A-J for your service, also.

BMT

RIP to these fine soldiers.

After reading this I don't have many words. Thank you comes to mind. Thank you for sharing this. These men will never be forgotten. All my gratitude for what you all do for this country.

Thank you.
God bless them all.

May they rest in peace.

R.I.P. Men.

Dink

There's no sound more melancholy than taps at a memorial. Come on guys let's keep this at the top for awhile.

I got this piece from Lightfighter.com Posted by a guy we know as tomahawk6



tomahawk6
Too much time on your hands
Posted 09 August 2011 20:49 Hide Post
One brave kid.Damn dust...

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/...index.html?hpt=hp_c1

(CNN) -- A week ago, 10-year-old Braydon Nichols started to think about his dad and how much he missed him.

Army Chief Warrant Officer Bryan Nichols, a helicopter pilot, had been deployed for two months in Afghanistan.

The little boy, in the car with his mother running errands, brushed back his dirty-blond hair and ran his hand over his cheek.

Jessica Nichols looked over when she heard sniffles. Her son was crying.

"When is Dad coming back so we go camping?" he asked her.

Soon, she assured him. "Your dad is off fighting for this country."

The boy replied, "As soon as he gets home, we're going to go on a camping trip, just me and him."

Jessica Nichols cannot stop replaying that scene in her mind. That's because only a few days later, on Saturday night, she was cradling her boy who was crying once again. Except this time she could not tell him that his father was coming home. She had just received a call informing her that Bryan Nichols was one of the 30 Americans who died that afternoon when their Chinook helicopter was shot down in Wardak province in east-central Afghanistan.

"It was just so devastating that a week ago or so Braydon had that worried look on his face, thinking about his dad," she said.

"Braydon and Bryan were so connected. Braydon was like a little version of his dad."

Bryan Nichols and Jessica Nichols met in sixth grade. Bryan was a born military buff. His father was a soldier and served in Vietnam. Bryan enlisted in the military before high school graduation. A few years later, he and Jessica married and had Braydon.

Bryan worked his way up through the military ranks.

"He always wanted to be in the Army," she said. "He came across the Chinook and was so fascinated. His father flew Chinooks."

Bryan Nichols did three deployments during their marriage. It proved to be too much for their relationship, she said. They divorced when Braydon was 3, but remained close to raise Braydon.

Bryan remarried, and his new wife and Jessica all got along. They all loved and cared for Braydon, she said.

It was Bryan's wife, Mary, who contacted Jessica Saturday night to say that Bryan had died. "She was screaming," Jessica said. "She was screaming that Bryan was dead."

Jessica couldn't believe what she was hearing. She hung up. Her heart was beating hard. Braydon was in his room, still awake and playing.

Jessica walked toward the room, and stood by his door for a moment, overcome with grief.

"I went to my room and tried to figure out what was going on," she said.

Jessica pulled herself together as best she could and phoned her brother who lives nearby. He came to her house to support her.

Together, they called Braydon downstairs.

In his pajamas, Braydon stood in front of his mother and uncle.

"I said, 'Braydon, do you know much your dad loves you? Do you know how proud of you he is?"

Before she could say anything more, the boy wilted in her arms, sobbing.

"I said, 'I'm sorry ... your ... dad died."

The mother and son held each other and cried. An hour, maybe, went by. At one point Braydon got off the couch and ambled over to a Shih Tzu puppy, Lucy, that his mother bought him when his father got deployed.

He held the dog for awhile. Then he fell asleep for a bit, and she went out to their porch.

The night gave way to day.

On Sunday morning, Jessica and Braydon Nichols watched the national news broadcast the first reports about the downing of a Chinook helicopter. They listened to reporters say that 38 U.S. and Afghan service personnel were killed, including 22 Navy SEALs. It was the single deadliest loss for American troops since the war in Afghanistan began in late 2001.

"Braydon asked me why they weren't showing his dad's picture like they were showing some of the other guys," Jessica Nichols told CNN.com. "I told him it was because people had gone online and were posting photos."

That gave the boy an idea. The two went to the family computer. She pulled up CNN.com.

Braydon started saying, "iReport! iReport!"

Like his father, Braydon is an information sponge. He's always on the hunt for facts, his loves the computer, and he likes watching the news, his mother said. Braydon knew that he could post something about his dad on CNN.com's iReport.

So Jessica Nichols went to the iReport home page. Her son told her what to write.

"My father was one of the 30 US Soldiers killed in Afghanistan yesterday with the Seals rescue mission," she typed. "My father was the pilot of the chinook. I have seen other pictures of victims from this deadly mission and wish you would include a picture of my father. He is the farthest to the left."

He told her to sign his name.

Within hours, the iReport had become viral. Local news outlets across the country reported on it. More than 10,000 people on Facebook re-posted it. Twitter was abuzz about it. Many people left comments, expressing their sorrow for Braydon and telling him to be strong and that his father is a hero.

CNN.com began trying to get in touch with the person who posted the iReport to verify it, first reaching the boy's aunt. Sue Keller of Palco, Kansas, told CNN late Monday night that the boy wanted the country to remember his father not just as a soldier but as a dad.

On Monday night, Braydon's mother told him that a lot of people were talking about his iReport.

"He didn't say anything," she said. "He's been reading it over and over. He doesn't understand the people can post comments so I'm telling him that people are trying to talk to him. He just looks at the comments and then he walks away.

"He says, 'Mom, can we go watch a movie?'"

Late Monday night, Jessica Nichols said she couldn't find her son for a moment. He had disappeared in the house. She was yelling for him.

She found him in a closet, curled up on the floor, crying, going through a box of photo albums.

The boy said he wanted to take one of the photos and put it in his wallet.

He asked her, "'Can we go to be with Dad?'"

She replied that they would go to his father's funeral and they would be there for anything and everything the boy wanted.

"He said, 'Yeah, I'd like to go be with him when he comes home, and I said, 'OK, we will be.'"







http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-648315

HAJ,....THANKS for putting this up.

God bless and keep them, their Families, and all who serve and sacrifice in their stead.

GTC

My heart is breaking for this little boy. Breaking....

HAJ, Thank You!

I have an extremely close Combat Controller friend that lost 3 brothers in this tragedy. By the grace of God my friend nor his brother in law were on this mission. I'm not privy to insider info and I don't want to be but I do know he is taking it very very tough, as they were very close with their 3 brothers. Continued thoughts and prayers.

I am good friends with a few of the crew members who were killed in this accident. It is great to see the support we are receiving from everyone here and back home.

I would like to add to what was said above. SGT Hamburger was promoted posthumously to Staff Sergeant, and SPC Bennett was also promoted posthumously to Sergeant. Also the tattoo was on Alex Bennett's arm, not Mr. Carter's. And it read: "When I get to Heaven, to Saint Peter I will tell "Just another soldier reporting, Sir. I've served my time in hell.""

Thank you all for the support, it means more than you know.

CH47, Welcome to the campfire!

Thanks for the update and corrections! They were good men indeed! I was trying to take all I could remember from the memorial here at Shank and apply it in a way that would ensure these guys were never forgotten.

You have a PM on the way.

Thank you for posting this, HAJ.

And THANK YOU to all the active duty folks out there, as well as former military.

Not today, not ever. Never forgotten ...

R.I.P. Damn.

Just saw this..my heartfelt thanks and respect for those men and their families....

Well Said Woody!

As I stand here in front of the computer seeing the picture of each one gone... I give a salute of respect and a prayer...

may sound dumb to some, but it comes from the Heart...

thanks for posting this HJ....

the rest of you boys over there be safe and come home quick and safely...

Still hurts...

R.I.P

Where you been.?

Don't stay gone so long...

Here I am shedding tears at work. Knowing what it's like to loose a brother in arms is bad enough, thinking about how this little one felt makes me wish I could hug him and tell him how proud so many are of his Dad. Words are never enough.

HAJ,

I've missed this post in years past,

thanks for bringing back to the top.

May they never be forgotten.

HAJ - I was not around for your original post, but thank you and please know I share your pain today. I served 26 years, but never deployed in time of conflict. You have my eternal respect and gratitude.

I don't know how I missed this one but I do remember the incident well.

HAJ, your OP was well done sir and even though it's been 4 years now, it feels like it happened just yesterday. Words cannot express the gratitude I have for all that serve this country.

RIP E17

Bless them all.

Yes my friend it does.


Glad to see you post. I have missed you.

Never forgotten.

We owe a lot to our service people!

God bless all who answer the call to serve, especially those who leave all to their service and country.

nor should it be Mark.

I saw this sign at the national cemetery at Little Bighorn and this was written on it

The muffled drums sad roll has beat
The soldiers last tattoo
No more on life's parade shall meet
That brave and fallen few


Anyhow till Valhalla

Thanks for bringing it back to our attention Mark.

A salute of respect for the fallen and their service.

RIP.

I still see their faces.

Still not forgotten.

They will never be forgotten, as they are brother in arms HAJ!

God Bless the Great Warriors!

Mark we'll never forget this brave crew as well as so many others who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

Since your thread is " In Memoriam" thought I might add this if you don't mind..

Jim's {ET} not here anymore so I'll post in his behalf ...Oscar AKA "Speedy" Gonzalez was his friend KIA Jan, '70 at the battle of Hill 474 where Jim and I crossed paths in another lifetime. I know his thoughts today as well as many of us are focused on those we left behind and we pray for their loved ones who have borne this grief for so many years.



Oscar L.. Jim center..

Thanks for remembering this again this year.