Finally said goodbye to an old friend
SPC Henry Risner died August 18 2004 in Eastern Baghdad while assigned to B co 2nd Bn 14th Infantry.
Old guy story time incoming:
Henry and I served together in A/1-506 IN at Camp Giant, ROK. We PCSed at the same time in March 2004, both headed to Fort Drum.
As fate would have it, we were both assigned to 2-14 IN there, and reported the same day. Sitting in the S1 office, I was talking with Henry when the S1 NCOIC came up and asked something like “one of you is going to Alpha co and one to Bravo co, who wants which?”. We were interchangeable 11B PFCs so I suppose him giving us the option wasn’t crazy.
I said “I’ll take Alpha” and Henry shrugged and said “then I’ll take Bravo”. And so it was settled.
Iraq was imploding at the time, and just a few months later we were in Kuwait, and then driving up to Baghdad. A co took a patrol sector in West Baghdad (Abu Gharaib area) and B co East Baghdad (Sadr City area).
Henry was killed when he was hit by sniper fire manning a checkpoint there. And so concluded his story.
I survived this and other deployments, retiring a few years ago. There would be many other friends lost along the way, but none has stuck with me like
Henry. Maybe it was that day in S1, or maybe because he was first, but I think of him often. I guess it’s survivor guilt.
I am in Colorado for business this week and decided to come out a day early to make a detour to Fort Logan National Cemetery to pay my respects after all these years. It was hard, but I am glad I did.
There is no moral to the story. Henry’s story is any of our stories if we stand a foot to the left, get in a different convoy vehicle, or exist as a name in a different row on an excel spreadsheet. I am just glad to have known him, thankful for his service, and glad to have survived.