Fallen Virginia Guard combat engineers remembered at Fort Leonard Wood memorial ceremony
Command Sgt. Maj. Darryl Plude of the Virginia National Guard's Petersburg-based 276th Engineer Battalion traces the name of a Wisconsin National Guard Soldiers killed in action in Afghanistan while serving in the 276th. His name was among more than 330 names of combat engineers lost during combat operations in Global War on Terror etched on the Memorial Wall for Fallen Engineers unveiled April 7 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. The unveiling took place after the Fallen Sapper Tribute Fort Leonard Wood Memorial Chapel, a ceremony designed to pay humble and respectful homage to the 33 engineer Soldiers who died in combat from April 2010 to April 2011. Directly outside the chapel in the Engineer Memorial Grove, the wall made of Missouri red granite engraved with the names of engineers who made the ultimate sacrifice was unveiled in front of family members and fellow engineers from across the country. After the unveiling, family members and fellow engineers were invited to trace the names on the wall. (Photo by Cotton Puryear, Virginia Department of Military Affairs)
Fallen Virginia Guard combat engineers remembered at Fort Leonard Wood memorial ceremony
Command Sgt. Maj. Darryl Plude of the Virginia National Guard's Petersburg-based 276th Engineer Battalion traces the name of a Wisconsin National Guard Soldiers killed in action in Afghanistan while serving in the 276th. His name was among more than 330 names of combat engineers lost during combat operations in Global War on Terror etched on the Memorial Wall for Fallen Engineers unveiled April 7 at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. The unveiling took place after the Fallen Sapper Tribute Fort Leonard Wood Memorial Chapel, a ceremony designed to pay humble and respectful homage to the 33 engineer Soldiers who died in combat from April 2010 to April 2011. Directly outside the chapel in the Engineer Memorial Grove, the wall made of Missouri red granite engraved with the names of engineers who made the ultimate sacrifice was unveiled in front of family members and fellow engineers from across the country. After the unveiling, family members and fellow engineers were invited to trace the names on the wall. (Photo by Cotton Puryear, Virginia Department of Military Affairs)