6

Tribute to a Nightstalker | home

Nightstalker Chaplain's Speech at Memorial Service

Fort Campbell, Kentucky

At the bottom of the Night Stalker Creed rests a bible verse. It rests at the bottom of the creed, not because it comes last or is merely some nice afterthought, but rather because it acts as a foundation to the creed itself. That verse, from the book of Job chapter 23, verse 10 reads: "But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold".
When I think of gold, two things immediately come to my mind. The first is our nations great state of Alaska. Alaska is the sight of the world's last great gold rush, dating back to1898. And in the summer of the year 2001, the largest cache of gold ever found was unearthed in Alaska with some 23 million ounces of gold being found. The interesting point of that find is not necessarily that the gold was found, but that it took over 100 years of tough, grueling mining for the workers to find the gold.
You see gold is not easily found. It does not lie on paths that have been walked upon over and over again. In Alaska, newcomers often find stones lying on familiar paths. Stones that are heavy and glitter with bright golden and yellow hues and they rush about thinking they have struck it rich. But they quickly find out that what they have found is not gold at all, but what the old Sourdoughs call fools gold. No, to find true gold one must work hard dedicating all they have, every resource available to them, even their own lives, to find the treasury they seek Like the miners who struggled and searched for gold in Alaska, the crew of this flight never quit in their search for gold either. For as most of you here today know and as some of you here today have heard, Night Stalkers Don't Quit. The gold these men searched for however, was not a mineral found in the ground. The gold they sought was found in the heart. Forged and tested over time, always challenging themselves and others on to greater heights, these men became pure gold. God knows the way they have taken. Their test is now over. There time is now complete and they have come forth as gold.
The second thought that comes to my mind when I think of gold is the modern Olympic movement and the crowning or awarding of the medals to those athletes who have trained for and competed in the games and have come out on top. Each of these athletes has trained for most, if not all of their lives, to get their bodies in the shape they needed to win. They have spent grueling hours in strict discipline, finely tuning both body and mind in order to compete in often times one two minute or less opportunity to win gold. None of these athletes ever achieved this goal alone. No, each had a support team of family and friends, coaches and even a nation that stood behind and beside them, encouraging them and supporting them every step of the way. For the crew of flight ________, they are now truly America's gold medalists. Not only do they stand on the top podium in our hearts, they stand forever as our nations true golden heroes. And with them, standing behind and beside them, encouraging and supporting them in every step they took were family and friends, mentors and teachers, fellow Night Stalkers and even now our nation.
So, if you are a Mother or a Father, a sister or brother, aunt or uncle or cousin of one of our fallen heroes, Thank you for not only giving them life, but for all that you have done for them. Whether it was holding their feet to the fire to study their spelling words or arithmetic tables, shuttling them to and from life's events, wrestling with them, holding them, nurturing them, caring for them, Thank you for your love to them. To the wives and children, thank you. As soldiers, as Night Stalkers, as men, we often find it difficult to say I love you. We might not always say it in words, but we try to say it in actions. Having talked with hundreds of men who are soldiers, I can say this as a fact: You are the light of our lives and each of you were the light of the lives the men whom you loved. I have heard it said often that Night Stalkers do what they do because they love doing it, and that is true. But the reason they loved doing what they did, was because of their great love for you. Thank you for your love for them.
Fellow Night Stalkers, and in that group I include those present and past, wives and children, thank you. Whether you were the NCO who pushed and prodded them through "Green Platoon", the 1SG who welcomed them into their first Night Stalker Company, the Commander who led them, the mentor who trained them, the civilian employ or retiree that supports them, the Family Readiness Group participant who stands by their family: it was you who formed them, you who encouraged them to higher heights. It is YOU who form this band of brothers. And, because of their love for you they where able to do the job they were called to do. Thank You.
Today is a day to remember. Today is a day to honor and today is a day to mourn. But today is also a day to act and I recall the words of the great American, Abraham Lincoln, who on November 19, 1863 in Gettysburg Pennsylvania said, and I quote; "But in a larger sense, we can not dedicate-we can not consecrate-we can not hallow-this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us-that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion-that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain-that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom-and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
Job 23:10: But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as Gold.
The test for flight crew _____ is done. They have been proven as gold. The test for us is not yet complete. Therefore, as Abraham Lincoln has said, it is for us to dedicate our selves to their unfinished work.
*Night Stalkers Don't Quit!*