Terry
Blake
Emerson
Ryan
Coon
Doc
Caleb
Jimmy
As a photojournalist, I embedded with many units -- both in training and in combat. Yet, it was my time with the men of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, while in Operation Iraqi Freedom 06-08 that would prove as one of my memorable and painful times of my career. I had followed these men throughout their train-up in the muddy training areas of Fort Hood, Texas; the hot and dry Mojave Desert at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin, California; and to the villages through 9 Nissan in Iraq. They were everything you'd want infantrymen to be: brave, fearless, selfless, smart, funny, and extremely dutiful. They never quit -- even when most thought they should have. When tragedy struck this unit, it left me lost and guilt-ridden. Yet, they took the time to honor their fallen and went right back to their mission. There's no one on this earth that I respect more than the U.S. Army Infantryman. I don't know how they do it day in and day out, but I do know they do it for all of us. I will meet these men one day in Fiddler's Green, and it will be my utmost honor to shake their hands one more time and to let them know they were never forgotten.
SSG Terry Prader - SGT Blake Harris - SGT Emerson Brand - SGT Ryan Green
SGT Nicholas "Doc" Lightner - SGT Caleb Christopher - SPC James Arnold - SPC James Coon
