September 4, 2007

Two years have passed since the men in 2-1 took their final ride. In the lead on a hot September day they drove right into eternity. SGT Joel Lee Murray, CPL Duncan Crookston, CPL David Lane, and SPC Randol Shelton may they never fade from the memories of the peoples lives that they touched.

2-16IN recently redeployed to Northern Iraq. I know that the men from 2-1 will once again be sitting in over watch to see them safely through their deployment, as they did with ours. Not to long ago Val sent me a link to a website for David Lane please take your time and check out. It paints a nice picture of David who was the goofy one of the group, definitely the goofiest guy out of the whole platoon. He had the ability to make anyone laugh no matter how tired or mad you were David could put a smile on your face.

I recently spent sometime looking at a memorial page for Joel Murray. How much Joel had touched peoples lives and how much his wife loves him. Its truly heart warming to know that love like that exists in real life. Its an attestment to what a great man he really was.

I was planning on trying to make a trip up to Schiller Park Illinois to visit the Shelton family but my plans fell through at the last minute. The next time I have some time though I'm going to go and try to meet the people that raised such an outstanding young man. He wasn't afraid to stick up for people, and he knew how to have a good time, and he also knew how to make that time enjoyable for everyone. He was the guy everyone wanted to be around, he was dedicated and loyal. I don't think there was a day when he ever missed going to the gym. I certainly do miss his drunk dials to me to let me know how much he loved me. Randol Shelton the legend of Charlie Company.

Duncan Crookston the resident genius of the Company. One day I will actually find that video of him doing the Rubik's cube in under 2min. As I type on my lap top now and every time I turn it on I'm reminded of him. He helped me upload all the music on to it. He helped everyone with something. He started out as my driver but he was way to smart for that position. Though I liked him there because I knew I could count on him. Thats why they made him the RTO because he was smart, and they knew that they could count on him. Crookston was severely wounded in the blast, yet he lived and fought long enough to be reunited with his family. He finally succumbed to his wounds the day before his 20th birthday on January 25, 2008.

SGT Joseph Mixson was blown from the vehicle. He was the only member of the 2-1 crew to survive. The explosion took his legs but it didn't take his spirit or his sense of humor. The last time I saw Mixson was at the Regimental ball before I left Fort Riley. He partied just as hard as before September the 4th.

I miss these men tremendously, not a day goes by that I don't think about them. I talked about legacy before and that's part of the reason why I will always post so that these men will never be forgotten. Take some time and click on some of the links I've posted and get to know these men. If they didn't stand up to believe in something then who would? You believe in something or you die for nothing, and I know these men believed in what they were doing, for a love of country and the man to their left and right. They loved us as we loved them.

To talk about their losses I also have to mention the bravery of those that came to their aid. In that they loved their brothers so much that it didn't matter that there was fire, or bullets sailing through the air and explosives that might go anytime, they risked their lives to get the men out of the vehicle. We all knew, had it been us they would've done the same, and that we could not live a life knowing that we didn't do all we could to help our brothers who were in need.

Never Forget!

God bless the families of these brave men, and the men of 4th Brigade 1st Infantry Division that have deployed again to Iraq. May they come home safely.