FORT LEE, Va. -- The U.S. Army Quartermaster School’s Aerial Delivery and Field Services Department dedicated one of its parachute-packing classrooms July 21 in memory of a XVIII Airborne Corps parachute rigger who lost his life serving in Iraq in 2005.
Spc. Eric T. Burri, originally from Michigan, joined the Army in 2003. He became a parachute rigger and was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. In September 2004, he volunteered to deploy to Kuwait in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as a convoy security gunner. While on a mission in Iraq in June 2005, his vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device which ended his life. Burri, at 21, became the second U.S. Army parachute rigger to die in combat since World War II.
“The best way to memorialize heroes, such as Specialist Eric Burri, is to remind people who they were, what their sacrifice and their family’s sacrifice mean to our nation,” said Jason Hanifin, ADFSD Director. “The simplest and most effective method is to remember them by saying their name. Specialist Burri signed up to protect and defend our nation, our way of life, to protect our families and to ensure freedom and democracy were preserved so all Americans can enjoy our way of life today.
“Specialist Burri was a Soldier with the intestinal fortitude, the courage, dedication to run toward evil to defeat it and to ensure that good prevailed,” added Hanifin. “We will forever honor his commitment and honor his actions by remembering him and speaking his name.”
Chief Warrant Officer 5 Anthony Hall, ADFSD senior instructor, was Burri’s platoon leader in Iraq at the time of Burri’s death. Speaking to Burri’s parents, John and Joanne, Hall recounted Burri’s exceptional performance and uplifting spirit.
“Your son volunteered to come up (from Kuwait); he already had his training. We just had to get him familiar with our TTPs (tactics, techniques and procedures), and he did phenomenal,” said Hall. “He would always say something silly, you know, just to break the mood, because we knew what we were going into.
“Your son died a hero,” added Hall. “As a leader, you never want to say goodbye to a Soldier, it’s hard to lose a paratrooper. We are truly sorry we couldn’t bring your son home.”
Burri was proficient at packing personnel parachutes, rigging heavy drop equipment loads and repairing aerial delivery equipment with the 623rd Quartermaster Company, 1st Corps Support Command, where he served as an airdrop equipment repair specialist. He served honorably as a parachute rigger while supporting the XVIII Airborne Corps, 82nd Airborne Division, Airborne & Special Operations Test Directorate, and other tenant units on Fort Bragg.
“As a Gold Star family, one of the things we always are worried about is that our loved ones will be forgotten; events like this reassure us he's not,” said Burri’s father, John. “To get this phone call after 20 years, I can’t believe it.”
Burri’s awards included the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and the Army Service Ribbon. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Good Conduct Medal. He was inducted into the Quartermaster Parachute Rigger Hall of Fame in 2020.
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