Scoop’s Views

U.S. Special Forces Command Memorial Day
ceremony honors all fallen comrades

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (USASOC News Service, May 28, 2007) — The Army Special Forces commanding general, along with the Special Forces Association, hosted the thirty-ninth annual Special Forces Memorial Day Ceremony on the Army Special Operations Forces Plaza.

Maj. Gen. Thomas R. Csrnko, commanding general of U.S. Army Special Forces Command (Airborne), addressed those attending with words of remembrance.

“At a gathering like we are having today, we realize that we were never prepared for so many to die. No one is. We expect a chosen few. We expect an occasional empty chair and a toast to our fallen comrades with celebrations of past victories. Look at that wall — it reflects our friends, fathers, and husbands – the very best of our nation. Remember them, their sacrifices, the good times we had together, and the ones they left behind.”

The Army Special Operations Forces Memorial Wall contains the names of 1,007 Special Operations soldiers who have died in combat.

Originally, the Special Operations Forces Memorial Wall listed 803 Special Forces soldiers who had been killed in action in combat in Vietnam. Since the 1980s, names were added to include special operations soldiers who were killed in combat during the many conflicts since then.

Csrnko, however, reminded those gathered that there is more to the soldiers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

“Today, Special Forces soldiers to which we pay special homage are much more than names on a wall or gravestone. They are symbols of our march toward a time when the world order will stand for justice, democracy, and economic freedom.

In addition to the names of the 13 active-duty Special Forces Soldiers who lost their lives since last Memorial Day, Mel Smith of the Special Forces Association, read one hundred nine Special Forces Association members’ names that died during the past year as well.

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