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FORT LEWIS AND OTHER POSTS DOING AWAY WITH
INDIVIDUAL MEMORIAL SERVICES FOR FALLEN --
Starting next month Fort Lewis says it will
hold
one memorial a month for all the dead soldiers.
Story here...
http://www.komotv.
com/news/7745592.html
Story below:
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Ft. Lewis to consolidate soldier memorials
By KOMO Staff & News Services
FORT LEWIS, Wash. - So many Fort Lewis soldiers are being killed in Iraq
the Army base will no longer hold individual memorial services.
Starting next month Fort Lewis says it will hold one memorial a month
for all the dead soldiers.
Nineteen Fort Lewis soldiers have been killed this month -- the most of
the war, so far.
Fort Lewis acting commander Brigadier General William Troy told staff
last week that the number of soldiers in harm's way will preclude
individual services.
About 10,000 Fort Lewis troops, including two Stryker brigades, are now
in Iraq, the most since the 2003 invasion.
Some other Army posts have already consolidated services.
A memorial service planned for Thursday for one soldier will go on as
scheduled at Fort Lewis, and the first consolidated service for four
soldiers will be held on June 5.
3 More Fort Lewis Soldiers Killed
Meanwhile, the Department of Defense announced Wednesday that three more
Fort Lewis soldiers were killed in Iraq in two separate attacks in the
past week.
Staff Sgt. Thomas M. McFall, 36, of Glendora, Calif., and Cpl. Junior
Cedeno Sanchez, 20, of Miami, died Monday when an explosive detonated
nearby during a dismounted patrol in Baghdad. Both were assigned to 1st
Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment of the 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry
Division, one of two Fort Lewis Stryker brigades serving in Iraq.
On Saturday, Pfc. Charles B. Hester, 23, of Cataldo, Idaho, died in
Baghdad when his vehicle was hit by a homemade bomb. Hester was assigned
to the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment with the 3rd Brigade, 2nd
Infantry Division, Fort Lewis' other Stryker Brigade Combat Team that
has been in Iraq since June.
Hester had been in the Army three years, joining in May 2004. He arrived
at Fort Lewis in September 2004, where he was assigned to the 3rd
Brigade.
McFall joined the Army in October 1994 and served a year in Korea
beginning February 1997. He then reported to Fort Lewis to serve with
the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment.
In April 2001, McFall was stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, and
deployed to Afghanistan with the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment
from April 2004 through March 2005. He returned to Fort Lewis that
September and had served since January with the 1st Battalion, 38th
Infantry Regiment.
Sanchez joined the Army in November 2005 and reported to Fort Lewis last
June for assignment to the 4th Brigade's 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry.
The unit left for Iraq last month. He was posthumously promoted from the
rank of private first class.
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Larry Scott --
