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Fort Lewis grieves for corporals killed in Iraq

Aug- 9-2007 » Filed Under: 4/2 SBCT

MICHAEL GILBERT; The News Tribune

The 4th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division paid its respects Wednesday to the most recent of its soldiers to be killed in Iraq, two men who died three weeks ago in the villages northeast of Baghdad.

The brigade hasn’t lost a soldier since July 20, when Cpl. Rhett A. Butler, 22, was killed by a deep buried bomb that exploded beneath his Stryker near Khan Bani Sa’d.

Cpl. Brandon M. Craig, 25, died the day before when his Stryker was hit by a bomb in Husseiniyah.

The brigade chaplain, Lt. Col. John Pettit, urged the soldiers, family members and friends who attended Wednesday’s memorial ceremony in Evergreen Chapel to talk with others about their sadness at the loss. It’s the way toward healing, he said.

“Allow your tears to flow. Tell your stories,” Pettit said. “Honestly express your grief.”

Now about four months into its 15-month Iraq deployment, the 4th Brigade has lost 17 soldiers, although none since Butler.

The post’s other Stryker unit in Iraq – the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division – has lost a reported six soldiers since July 31 to bombings in Baghdad.

The 3rd Brigade had enjoyed a stretch of more than seven weeks in June and July without losing a soldier. It has about one more month left before it’s due to return to Fort Lewis.

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