I'd appreciate it if...

[RR691983]

Hey guys,
I'd appreciate it if everyone could take a look at this article. *Removed deadlink*

It's no secret my unit lost several good men in our deployment this past year. Some of us are still feeling the effects, some of us hide it. Here is an example of one of our fine soldiers ways of dealing with it. He is a personal friend. We've served together since we were young privates humpin' through the Hindu Kush mountains together in Afghanistan.

Deeds not Words.

Here is his story:


Soldier's tattoo is a memorial to fallen friends
By ERIC FRAZIER
The Dispatch


Sgt. Andrew Aldridge sat at the gunner's position, half-exposed atop the lead Humvee in a four-vehicle convoy. It was a routine patrol in Baghdad.

His truck had just passed the spot where insurgents had planted an improvised explosive device. Using a cell phone, they detonated the IED as the second Humvee passed.

"It wasn't very loud at all," Aldridge recalled. " ... but when I turned around, there was nothing left of the truck. I knew no one could have survived."

Three of his closest friends were among the five men killed in that vehicle.

The 22-year-old Davidson County native appeared remarkably composed as he recounted the incident during an interview this week. He was visiting relatives while on leave after returning to the United States July 24 from a yearlong deployment to Iraq.

The deaths left a lasting impression on Aldridge - one that he is in the process of making indelible in a tattoo on his back.



"You know how in a movie everything slows down, and for a minute everything just kind of stops?" he mused, straining to describe the surreal experience. "Then it hits you."

Aldridge estimated the elapsed time was actually about five to 10 seconds. He didn't have time to reflect on their deaths.

"First, you have a job to do," he noted. "Then, you think about that later."

The driver of his Humvee veered off the roadway and took up a defensive position in a field, but no further attacks followed.

Losing those three friends May 18 came uncomfortably soon after a buddy from another platoon was shot dead at random by a sniper in February.

"Some dude just sprayed with an AK (-47 machine gun)," Aldridge explained.

People deal with combat stress in different ways, he observed. Army counselors encourage soldiers to talk about their wartime experiences and feelings, and he agrees.

"If you just keep it locked in, it can eat away at you," he said.

For support, Aldridge turned to Army friends and to his wife, Lee Ann. They've been together since he was 16 at East Davidson High School. Within six months after he graduated in 2002, they got married, and he entered basic training at Fort Binning, Ga.

When asked what influenced him to join the Army, his answer was simple: "Sept. 11 happened. I mean, two buildings fell."

After basic training, he was assigned to the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y. From August 2003 to May 2004, he was deployed to Afghanistan. Later that year, he re-enlisted for five years.

From their home at Fort Drum, his wife kept in touch during his deployments via phone calls, e-mails and occasional video teleconferences.

Aldridge had gotten a decorative tattoo on his shoulder in December and began to think about getting another one specifically to commemorate his fallen friends.

"I wanted something that said 'Gone but not forgotten,'" he explained. And he envisioned the tattoo including their individual dog tags.

After telling his wife about his idea, she asked a friend to create the design on a computer. Aldridge took it to a tattoo artist in Watertown, N.Y., near his Army base, and the basic outline took about an hour and a half to complete.

"It's not done yet," he said. "I've got two more sittings."

He surprised his mother, Joy English, by showing up at Lexington Memorial Hospital, where she works in the kitchen.

"A sight for sore eyes, I'll tell you that much," she said. "I prayed for him the whole time he was gone."

As English listens to her son talk about his close call, tears well in her eyes.

"I'm very proud of my son," she said. "He's my hero. I'm glad he's back home."

Aldridge also got to spend some time this week fishing with his father, Randy, of Thomasville. He has a younger sister, Emily, 19, and a brother, Daniel, 15.

Asked if he ever gets homesick, he admitted he sometimes does, especially when he is back for a visit. But he likes almost everything about living in upstate New York - except for the heavy snows.

Aldridge and his wife had to return to the base Friday. His mother hopes he will not be deployed again soon.

"It's supposed to be a year," she said.

"To be honest with you," he said during his interview, "nobody really knows."

That sounds a lot like the uncertainty he learned to live with on patrols in Baghdad.

"Anything can happen," he noted.

Unforgettable things.

Eric Frazier can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 226, or eric.frazier@the-dispatch.com.

[AmericanGirl]

Thanks for posting that JR, its an amazing tattoo and an amazing way to remember your friends. God Bless.

[ClutterbusterNY]

That's an outstanding tribute to your buddies JR.
People remember in different ways and the important thing is never to forget these sacrifices. All expressions of remembrance are therapeutic for those who carry on.

[Vulture6]

Those men will live on in many ways, but the most important and most lasting is with their fellow Soldiers. You men will always hold them in your hearts and minds, and you will never forget. The key, I think, is to share their memory.

One thing that we always do, whether formal or informal, is to gather on the Marine Corps Birthday (but it can be any day), raise a toast, say the names out loud, and then spend the evening remembering, telling stories, and reminiscing. Sometimes, it's with 50 or 60 other men, sometimes it's with only one or two, and sometimes, it's by myself.

Carry on, brother... there is no greater burden, nor a more important one.

[RR691983]

Thanks for the replies guys. Apparantly due to the traffic they were getting they made it mandatory to have an account to view it. I made an account and I brought the article over with me so everyone can read it w/o going through the hassle.

[ClutterbusterNY]

I've got an account everywhere...lol. Let's see if this works:

*edit*
Beat ya to it
-RR

Never forget the real heros of this country.

[cutestuftwo]

Thankyou so much for sharing,It is so touching,and real,no wonder the soldiers are all my hero's
Lynn
Pam of TJ

JR thank you for sharing this story..to this day I remember my brothers who died during my tour in Vietnam....thats all I have is memories, but I hold on to them

[armyinfmom63]

Damn, I just don't know what to say. My son was there with you, but in a different Co. and seen some of his own comrades fallen. And yes it did affect him. He has told me stories about some missions that he had to get off his chest. I am glad he told me, but in the long run I know he will live with those images in his mind for his whole life.

This is an awesome thing that your friend ,that you have served time with, has undertaken this kind of memorial. Let him know that we are proud of what he is doing.....

[66MP1]

Great story JR, I like SSGMike remember my friends and commrades from Vietnam and will never forget them.

[Ram0528]

Great story.