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FORT CAMPBELL, KY, June 12, 2007 - The 506th Regimental Combat Team unveiled their Operation Iraqi Freedom 05-07 Memorial in front of their brigade dining facility June 12. The memorial commemorates the sacrifice of the brigade's fallen comrades during the unit's most recent rotation in support of OIF. "Today we are proud to honor our fallen Currahees, who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country; Operation Iraqi Freedom 05-07," said SFC Ernie Miller. Several of the families and friends of the fallen troops paid tribute to their loved ones at the ceremony. There were poignant moments as the parents, wives and children of the soldiers whose names were etched in the stone of the monument stepped forward to honor the memory of those they loved. Along with a map of Iraq, and the brigade's subordinate battalion crests, beneath which are the names of each Currahee who gave their lives during the year long deployment, there is an inscription which reads, "We have only died in vain if you believe so; you must decide the wisdom of our choice. By the world that you shall build upon our headstones. And everlasting troops which have your voice." The passage is a poem excerpt written by a WWII era Currahee and included in the 1945 edition of the unit's scrapbook, but it's relevance to elements of the current public discourse is haunting. "We will never forget these brave and courageous men, who volunteered to keep our country free," said COL Thomas Vail, commander, 506th Regimental Combat Team. Vail and CSM Mark Atchley stood in front of the monument for a long time after it was unveiled. Vail, who commanded the 506th RCT from training to battle and back, will leave the unit this week. Atchley took responsibility for the unit when CSM Michael Wagoner was severely injured by an improvised explosive device early in the deployment. It was his last full day before he turned over responsibility. The memory of the day Wagoner was injured is still fresh in the minds of many of the soldiers in the brigade. The monument will carry with it reminders of that sad day, when SPC Prince Teewia, the 50 cal. gunner on Wagoner's vehicle, was the first Currahee to lose his life in east Baghdad. His name is on the monument, along with many others who will
remain frozen in time, as reminders to future members of the
506th of a history of heroism and sacrifice that didn't stop
with the Brecourt Manor assault or Hamburger Hill, and the standard
that they are expected to bear whenever the unit is called on
again. 
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