JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, WASH. -- Names on a memorial wall offer a chance to reflect; fresh inscriptions offer a time to grieve. Such has been the time for the families and friends of three 1st Special Forces Group Soldiers who died in combat in 2011. They were joined by their extended family within the ranks of the Joint Base Lewis-McChord unit when their Soldiers' names were unveiled on the unit's memorial wall, which lists those who've paid the ultimate sacrifice, during a ceremony here Nov. 10.
The 1st SFG annually honors veterans past and present during a Veterans Day observance, and recognizes Soldiers from their ranks whom had fallen during the previous year, and all who had fallen. Sergeants 1st Class Dae Han Park and Wyatt Goldsmith, as well as Staff Sgt. Michael Hosey, were immortalized in the respectful stone memorial on the 1st SFG compound.
From Seoul, South Korea, Park, the oldest of three children, grew up in Connecticut and enlisted in the Army as an infantryman in 1998. After joining the ranks of Special Forces in 2006, he was assigned to 1st SFG. The Bronze Star Medal recipient had deployed multiple times worldwide. Park fell in Afghanistan in March and is survived by his wife and two daughters.
A Soldier since 2004, Goldsmith, a graduate of the medical sergeant special forces qualification course, among other accolades, had served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. On his third deployment in support of Overseas Contingency Operations, Goldsmith, a native of nearby Redmond, Wash., succumbed to his combat injuries in Afghanistan in July.
A native of Birmingham, Ala., Hosey joined the Army in 2001 as a cryptologic linguist immediately after high school. A graduate of the Defense Language Institute's Korean language program, along with many other accomplishments, the military intelligence Soldier had served as an instructor at Fort Huachuca, Ariz., and a consultant with the U.S. Border Patrol in joint operations. He'd served with 1st SFG from 2005 until his death in September and has posthumously received the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, and the Meritorious Service Medal.
A fellow 1st SFG Soldier said the ceremony was not just to remember those who had fallen, but to honor those who supported them and carry their legacies.
"This is not only to honor our fallen comrades, but to honor their families," he said. "We as Soldiers make sacrifices, but those Gold Star families do as well."
He'd deployed twice with Hosey and said those who knew him personally would not only remember his sharp professionalism, but also his sharp sense of humor.
"He had a jokester side," he said. "When you think of the military, you may always think of being lockstep, proper and inside of a square; but it's not always true. In our private lives we know how to have fun and he was someone who could lighten a mood very easily."
Lt. Col Joe McGraw, 1st SFG executive officer, said while honoring sacrifice is always appreciated, it can never be done better than by those who continue to sacrifice.
"They can never fully understand what that service and sacrifice means; what the total worth of blood and treasure really is… it's you; it's the very best our country has to offer," he said. "We close ranks in comfort with those who understand the anguish of loss and the ultimate sacrifice. That is why it is good… necessary… right… that we as a family gather together for this annual remembrance. We are a family and we will always remember."
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