‘First
Team’ Remembers Fallen Hero
By
Spc. Ryan Stroud
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division
Public Affairs
Posted With Permission Of The 1st Cavalry Division.
BAQUBAH,
Iraq
(Jan. 30, 2007) --
“I can’t understand why his life was taken so quickly; I can only
guess that the good Lord said, ‘Pfc. Fairlie, it is time for you to
come home. Your work on earth is complete,’” tearfully said
Capt. James Locklear at the memorial ceremony for one of his fallen
Soldiers, Pfc. Nathan Fairlie.
“He touched
many people with his smile, positive attitude and his special way to
make people laugh,” continued the commander of Company B, 6-9 Armored
Reconnaissance Squadron, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st
Cavalry Division.
“Seeing him
in person, you couldn’t help but gravitate to him,” said Locklear.
“He just had that kind of effect to him.”
Fairlie, known by many different names like “Naked One” and
“Fairlie Bear,” died from wounds received in combat, Jan. 26.
The Soldier from Co. B, 6-9 ARS, is survived by his parents, Paul and
Karen Fairlie.
“His loss is
absolutely devastating to this squadron,” said Lt. Col. Keith Gogas,
commander of 6-9 ARS. “He understood the mission and worked very
hard every day to be the best Scout he could be.”
The memorial
took place at Forward Operating Base Warhorse, Jan. 30, with many
Soldiers of the 3rd "Grey Wolf" Brigade in
attendance. Chaplain (Capt.) Douglas Fenton led the invocation and
prayer while Soldiers spoke about their fondest memories of the fallen
Soldier.
“Anyone who
knew Pfc. Fairlie will tell you the one thing we will all remember is
that great big smile and the fact that he never, ever complained,”
Gogas said. “I never saw him without that smile on his face.
He was that guy who raised everyone’s spirits and made everyone else
laugh when [times] were tough.”
“He would,
out of the blue, come up with this great story, and you could never be
mad at him,” said Cpl. Keith Kettinger, Co. B, 6-9 ARS, and the gunner
of Fairlie’s Bradley Fighting Vehicle. “He would lift your
spirits from whatever mood you were in.”
“Every
person that has been in his life is not changed from meeting him,”
said Staff Sgt. Mathew Sanders, Fairlie’s Bradley commander.
“The guy could brighten up a room just from walking into it.”
Fairlie was
born on Oct. 21, 1985 in Candor, N.Y. After graduating from High
school, Fairlie joined the U.S. Army to become a Cavalry Scout.
Fairlie was assigned to Co. B, 6-9 ARS, where his peers said he became
one of the hardest working Soldiers.
“He always
maintained a hard work ethic,” Locklear said. "Whenever you
saw him, his clothes were always dirty from continuing to keep-up on the
maintenance on his Bradley.”
“He was, by
far, the hardest worker,” said Sanders. “If I, or any of the
other non-commissioned officers told him to do something, it was
done.”
“A self
proclaimed Bradley expert, Fairlie loved his Bradley and was right at
home in that driver seat,” said Gogas. “He had the most
unbelievable energy that made everyone want to be better.”
As the
ceremony concluded, each Soldier said their last goodbyes to their
friend, Fairlie.
“To everyone
who ever met him, he [will] always be known as a friend,” said
Sanders. “I will miss him.”
“The only
thing I can say is we were [all] blessed to know him,” said Kettinger.
“He was like a little brother to me.”
“Everyone
should take a special memory of him and keep it close to their heart,”
he sorrowfully continued. “I love you brother.”
“We will get
through this terrible loss, but will never forget our friend and fellow
warrior,” said Gogas. “Farewell, Pfc. Nathan P. Fairlie, you
will not be forgotten. You are my hero.”
“To Paul and
Karen Fairlie -- words can’t make your son come back, but I just want
you to know that your son touched so many lives, not only in the Troop,
but in the Squadron as a whole,” said Locklear.
“Once we
have retired or ETS, and are no longer in the Army, and are telling
stories to our children and grandchildren about Iraq, you can [know]
people will talk about him and this will keep his spirit alive,” he
tearfully concluded.
A
Soldier attending the memorial of Pfc. Nathan Fairlie, Company B, 6-9
Armored Reconnaissance Squadron, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st
Cavalry Division, mourns the death of a fallen comrade, Jan. 30.
Fairlie died from wounds received in combat, Jan. 26. (U.S. Army
photo by Spc. Ryan Stroud, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st
Cavalry Division Public Affairs)
A
Soldier attending the memorial of Pfc. Nathan Fairlie, Company B, 6-9
Armored Reconnaissance Squadron, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st
Cavalry Division, mourns the death of a fallen comrade, Jan. 30.
Fairlie died from wounds received in combat, Jan. 26. (U.S. Army
photo by Spc. Ryan Stroud, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st
Cavalry Division Public Affairs)
Staff
Sgt. Mathew Sanders, Company B, 6-9 Armored Reconnaissance Squadron, 3rd
Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, speaks at a
memorial ceremony for the driver of his Bradley Fighting Vehicle, Pfc.
Nathan Fairlie. Fairlie died from wounds received in combat,
Jan. 26. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Ryan Stroud, 3rd Brigade
Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs)
A
Soldier attending the memorial of Pfc. Nathan Fairlie, Company B, 6-9
Armored Reconnaissance Squadron, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st
Cavalry Division, kneels down for a moment of reflection for his fallen
comrade, Jan. 30. Fairlie died from wounds received in combat,
Jan. 26. The memorial was held at Salie Gym at Forward Operating
Base Warhorse in
Baqubah
,
Iraq
. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Ryan Stroud, 3rd Brigade
Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs)
Pfc.
Nathan Fairlie’s helmet sits on top of his weapon during the memorial
ceremony held in remembrance of Fairlie. Fairlie, a Soldier with
Company B, 6-9 Armored Reconnaissance Squadron, 3rd Brigade
Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, died from wounds received
in combat, Jan. 26. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Ryan Stroud, 3rd
Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs)
Fondest wishes go out to the family and friends of
PFC Fairlie and all of our fallen and wounded Troopers - Webmaster, Cavalry Country.
