Photo By Jerome Mapp | (right to left) Lt. Col. Calvin Knox, commander of the Fort Bragg Soldier Recovery...... read more read more
FORT BRAGG, N.C. – Soldiers, Gold Star families, and civilian employees gathered at the Soldier Recovery Unit’s (SRU) Tranquil Gardens May 25 to remember six Soldiers and civilian SRU employees whose lives were cut short by wounds, injuries, and illness.
The brief ceremony was held the Wednesday before Memorial Day, which was observed on Monday, May 30. This was the SRU’s second year holding this solemn event.
The ceremony honored the memory of Master Sgt. Leyla Erika Garcia, August 2021, an automated logistical non-commissioned officer (NCO), who passed away in August 2021; Deborah Faye Macleod, SRU nurse case manager, who passed away in October 2021; Spc. Aliyah Robian Landrum, automated logistical specialist, who passed away in November 2021; Clyde Foster, Army Recovery Care coordinator and a retired Soldier, who passed away in January 2022; Sgt. 1st Class Douglas William Carroll, maintenance supervisor NCO, who passed away in January 2022; and Dr. James P. Mundy, Jr., SRU clinical pharmacist, who passed away in May 2022.
Lieutenant Colonel Calvin Knox, SRU commander, praised the three Soldiers and three civilian employees for their patriotism, love of country, and dedication to the Soldiers they served.
“All six shared a common trait – they were patriots. They loved this country, what it stood for, and [they loved] those within its borders so much that they volunteered to serve,” Knox said. “They committed themselves to a life and defense of this great nation and everything we hold dear.”
He pointed out that the care they brought to the Soldiers at the SRU was in spite of their own personal struggles and internal battles in life.
“They found ways to continue serving Soldiers through their compassion, generosity, and a selflessness seldom seen,” Knox said.
Prior to recounting the collective remembrance of each fallen patriot, Knox urged the audience to focus on how they lived, rather than on how they died.
“Don’t focus on them being gone. Celebrate that we were gifted with the opportunity to know them and to have them here even for a moment to enrich our lives,” Knox said. “Be thankful for how they touched and bettered us. Think only of those joyous moments and know they did not leave us without a fight.”
Chaplain (Capt.) Lemuel E. Pearsall, Jr., who offered words of comfort, encouraged the audience to remember the life of each fallen patriot by telling others of how they lived.
“In the days ahead, remember to tell those stories as a way to remember your loved one, so they can live on,” Pearsall said. “Be assured that they are now sitting in the Kingdom of God where the Good Shepherd has led them.”
Following Pearsall’s remarks, Knox and Command Sgt. Maj. Jerome Shelton placed a wreath on an easel adjacent to a poster-size photo of the honored Soldiers and civilians, They then stood back and rendered salutes. They were followed by a lone bagpiper whose mournful rendition of “Amazing Grace” and the benediction brought the poignant ceremony to a close.
The SRUs, formerly known as Warrior Transition Units, provide support to wounded, sick, or injured Soldiers who require a minimum of six months of rehabilitative care, therapy, or complex medical management, according to the Army Recovery Care Program (ARCP) website. ARCP manages 14 SRUs throughout the Continental United States. More than 80,000 Soldiers have participated in the program, and more than 40 percent of Soldiers assigned to an SRU have successfully returned to duty.
For more information on SRUs, click on the following link: https://www.arcp.army.mil/about-us/
| Date Taken: | 05.25.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 06.02.2022 15:10 |
| Story ID: | 422057 |
| Location: | FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 340 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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