Pfc Christopher J. Dyer
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August 3, 2005
Battalion Commander LtCol Lionel Urquhart gave the following address at the memorial service:
Task Force 3/25,
We stand atop Hadithah Dam this morning to pay our respects to twenty-three fallen warriors. Men whose lives touched us, whose deaths sadden us and whose heroism inspires us. Men we are honored to call friends.
The heartfelt tributes just given, provided us some additional insight into the lives of these twenty-three Americans who will be forever linked by the title: Marine. Although different in many ways, these men are joined by qualities such as: courage, honor and commitment.
A newspaperman and father of a Marine, Dennis Anderson, wrote, "Being a Marine in the war on terrorism is 'hazardous duty' defined, and they take it on willingly--for the rest of us...It is so hard to lose our Marines...All we can do is thank them, and there's never enough we can do to honor them."
Still we must try, because to do nothing dishonors their sacrifice. Thus, tomorrow and every day hence, we must continue to protect the innocent and eliminate the terrorists. We must accomplish our mission; because when all is said and done, our actions will be our most enduring memorial to these selfless men.
Sergeant Coullard, Sergeant Graham, Sergeant Harper, Sergeant Hoffman, Sergeant Rock, Corporal Boskovitch, Corporal Kreuter, Corporal Stewart, Corporal Williams, Lance Corporal Bell, Lance Corporal Bernholtz, Lance Corporal Bloem, Lance Corporal Castleberry, Lance Corporal Cifuentes, Lance Corporal Deyarmin, Lance Corporal Dyer, Lance Corporal Fraser, Lance Corporal Lyons, Lance Corporal Montgomery, Lance Corporal Reed, Lance Corporal Schroeder, Lance Corporal Waruinge, and Lance Corporal Wightman :
May you rest in peace; may God bring comfort to those who mourn you; and may you never be forgotten.
During the combat and security operations that claimed the lives of these brave men we were not alone; Iraqis fought and served courageously beside us. Like us, they put their lives on the line for a better future. Sergeant Mhsuean Abd Alahssu, an Iraqi soldier, died fighting in the village of Cykla. One of our interpreters, Mazin (or as most of you knew him, Neil), lost his life near Barwanah when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) destroyed the Amphibious Assault Vehicle in which he was traveling. Sergeant Mhsuean and Neil: Ma'a salaama wa shukran. (Good-bye and thank you).
Semper Fidelis.
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