FORT HOOD, Texas - When a child chooses to enlist in the military, there comes a day where he or she will retire or decide to leave.
For some, that choice is taken away from them far too soon.
The 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment "Chargers," 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division invited a Gold Star Family here to honor and remember their loved one Nov. 26.
"I don't understand it completely, but when I go through the security gate and get onto Fort Hood, I feel sort of alive again," said Sophy Haynes, mother of Sgt. 1st Class Schuyler "Sky" Haynes, former Scout Platoon leader with 1-12 Cav. "Since Sky was killed, I haven't been the same. Being here, it's sort of like being in his world."
Schuyler was killed in a convoy during his deployment to Baquba, Iraq, Nov. 15, 2006.
"He was an unbelievable Soldier," said Retired Staff Sgt. Kenneth Reynolds, a friend who deployed with Schuyler. "Doing a one-man job wasn't enough. He was always able to carry the load of at least two people - perhaps even more."
The battalion sought to help Schuyler's Family by connecting them with the unit and showing them their Soldier's memory will live on.
"The point was to establish a relationship between the Gold Star Family members with 1-12 Cav," said 1st Lt. Demetrios Kolitsos, Scout Platoon leader for Headquarters and Headquarters Company. "It's a really good opportunity for the Family to reconnect with the unit that their loved one was a part of."
Upon arrival at the unit, the Family - Haynes and her son Robbie, and close friend Reynolds - were introduced to the sniper section, the unit of which Schuyler was a member back when he was a Charger.
"With the unit reaching out to us and letting us have this relationship makes a huge difference," said Haynes, who hails from Manhattan, New York. "Joining the Army was something Schuyler was going to do. I don't regret encouraging him. This is what he wanted to do."
The Chargers welcomed the Family and gave them a tour of the unit and equipment.
"It kind of reconnects her to her son," said Kolitsos, a native of Mineral Ridge, Ohio. "She wants to keep up to date with what the scout platoon is doing. She came here to get a feel for what her son could potentially be doing now."
Sniper section Soldiers lined up ready to brief the capabilities of each vehicle and piece of equipment. One Soldier was decked out in a Ghillie suit, a hand-made suit with vegetation attached to it for camouflage - the signature garment of a sniper.
"Everyone is smiling and saying hi," Haynes said. "It's as if they made me a part of the unit."
In addition to giving the Family a tour of the unit and an introduction to the equipment, the Charger Battalion made the Haynes Chargers for life and invited them to come back next year.
"We recognize the sacrifice that all Gold Star Family members make when a father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, or other loved one dies in service to the nation," said Maj. Gen. Michael Bills, commanding general, 1st Cav. Div. "We realize that no one has given more for the nation than the Families of the fallen. It is an honor and privilege to open our arms to our First Team Gold Star Families."
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