Fort Lewis soldiers killed in Mosul remembered

02:39 PM PST on Wednesday, December 29, 2004

Associated Press and KING Staff Reports

FORT LEWIS, Wash. — Hundreds of friends and relatives of six Stryker brigade soldiers killed in the bombing of a dining tent at Mosul, Iraq, gathered Wednesday to remember the fallen as heroes.

“We grieve the loss of six soldiers, six brothers in arms,” Army Maj. Timothy Gauthier said as the memorial service began. "All six of these men answered a higher calling. When the nation asked 'whom shall I send, who shall go for us?' They answered and said, 'Here I am. Send me.'"

Among those attending were Gov. Gary Locke and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.

AP

Capt. David Barbuto pauses as he speaks at the service.

Each soldier was honored by two tributes — one from a commander, one from a fellow soldier — before a 21-gun salute and the playing of “Taps” at Fort Lewis’ Soldiers Field House.

The six, all members of the Stryker Brigade, died when a suicide bomber, apparently dressed in an Iraqi military uniform, walked into a mess tent in Mosul around noontime on Dec. 21. It was the deadliest attack so far at a U.S. military base in Iraq, claiming 22 lives, including 14 American soldiers and several civilians.

"In a single cowardly and despicable act, this terrorist tore some of our very best soldiers and leaders from us,” said Gauthier. “In it’s aftermath, I’ve come to think of Dec. 21st as the longest shortest day of the year.”

The Fort Lewis-based soldiers honored Wednesday are:

•Staff Sgt. Julian S. Melo, 47, a supply specialist from Brooklyn, N.Y.;

•Capt. William W. Jacobsen Jr., 31, an infantry officer and company commander from Charlotte, N.C.

•Sgt. Darren D. VanKomen, 33, a supply specialist from Bluefield, W. Va., who spent his childhood in the Lewiston, Idaho, area.

•Staff Sgt. Robert S. Johnson, 23, a chemical operations specialist from Castro Valley, Calif.

•Spc. Jonathan Castro, 21, a combat engineer from Corona, Calif.

•Pfc. Lionel Ayro, 22, a combat engineer of Jeanerette, La.

The radical Ansar al-Sunnah Army claimed responsibility for the attack.