Photo By Staff Sgt. James Hunter | Lt. Col. Dale Kuehl, commander and native of Huntington, Ala., with 1st Battalion, 5th...... read more read more
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By Sgt. James P. Hunter
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division
BAGHDAD—On Dec. 7, 2006, Staff Sgt. Kristopher Ciraso, with 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, lost his life when he was struck by an improvised explosive device while trying to repair a barrier in the western Ameriyah neighborhood of the Iraqi capital. He was the first "Black Knights" Soldier to lose his life during the battalion's 15-month deployment.
Five months later, on May 14, 2007, six Soldiers and an interpreter who were riding in an M3 Bradley Cavalry Fighting Vehicle were struck by a deep-buried IED in Ameriyah. All seven – Staff Sgt. Christopher Moore, Sgt. Jean Paul Medlin, Sgt. David Behrle, Pfc. Travis Haslip, Pfc. Alexander Verela, Pfc. Joseph Gilmore, and the interpreter – died in the blast.
In order to remember the fallen Soldiers of the cavalry unit, currently attached to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), the Black Knights held a ceremony in Ameriyah, Dec. 7, one year to the day they lost their first Soldier, and at the very site where those seven men lost their lives in May.
The Black Knights honored 18 fallen warriors during the ceremony. Chap. (Capt.) Steven Rindahl, the Black Knights' chaplain, asked those in attendance to join him in prayer to remember their warriors "lost in the fight."
With heads bowed and emotions swirling, he asked for those men to be ever remembered as men who helped bring peace and stability to Iraq by fighting manfully against all evil.
"Today, we gather to honor the memory of our comrades who paid the ultimate sacrifice in the cause of freedom and peace," said Huntsville, Ala., native Lt. Col. Dale Kuehl, the Black Knights' commander." We mark this day, the seventh of December, exactly a year after we lost our first Soldier; at the site where we had our greatest lost."
Cyrus, Ohio, native Spc. Justin T. Taylor, a tanker with Company D, 1-5 Cavalry, said the opportunity to pay tribute to his fallen comrades was a great honor.
"This is the greatest way I know how to pay respect to these (Soldiers)," said Taylor, who served on the firing squad for the ceremony.
But paying tribute to these men was done with mixed emotions, said Kuehl.
"While where we stand is hollowed ground, it also symbolically marks our greatest victory," he told his troops. A year ago, this area in western Baghdad was hostile, but now the Black Knights were able to stand on this very ground and pay tribute to their fallen.
"About a year ago I wouldn't even have been able to walk down these streets and do this," Taylor said. "Right now, I feel confident and safe to walk in here and do this. It's a huge deal and I'm glad. I can't believe how far we've made it."
When the Black Knights first entered Baghdad a year ago, they entered a period during this war where violence was spinning out of control, said Kuehl. Al-Qaida was targeting civilians, both Shia and Sunni, to achieve their goals with little regard to the Iraqi people.
"Shia militia became more violent, targeting Sunnis and taking over whole neighborhoods," he said. But thanks to the efforts of his troops, those who gave their lives in sacrifice for freedom, Iraqi security forces and concerned local citizens, the Black Knights were able to gain the security and stability in Baghdad.
"As we mourned our loses, we established a permanent presence in this community, and through our actions gained the confidence and trust of the locals and turned our tide against our enemies," Kuehl said. "Feel pride in what we have accomplished. These Soldiers have put on their gear, picked up a weapon and stood for something bigger than themselves," Kuehl said. "We, who have been here, should never forget what it has cost."
| Date Taken: | 12.12.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 12.12.2007 17:38 |
| Story ID: | 14656 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 643 |
| Downloads: | 368 |
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