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Cami McCormick joined more than a dozen soldiers in Tacoma as they remembered the death, and celebrated the life of their "brother", Army Cpl. Brian L. Chevalier.For one group of young soldiers, most of whom were seniors in high school when the U.S. invaded Iraq, the 5th anniversary is not about numbers, political speeches or military strategy.
More than a dozen troops based in Tacoma, Washington gathered recently to commemorate a very personal milestone of the war.
During their 15 month deployment to Iraq, the Bravo Company, 5/20 Infantry Battalion, 3rd Stryker Brigade out of Ft. Lewis was stationed first in Mosul, and then moved to Baghdad as the U.S. troop surge got underway.
From Baghdad, the company was ordered to the volatile Diyala province, one of the most dangerous parts of Iraq.
"We expected a big fight," said Spc. Alex Horton. "The IEDS were so intense and so big that we had to plan our missions around the main routes."
On March 14th, 2007, only two hours into their first day of operations in Diyala, a massive roadside bomb hit one of their Stryker vehicles. Army Cpl. Brian L. Chevalier, 21, was driving. He was killed on impact.
A year later, his young comrades, who come from Georgia, New York, Texas and Louisiana, gathered at an apartment near Tacoma to remember him with a toast.
"Rest in peace Chevy, here's to you buddy," they said as they raised their beer bottles. "Brothers for life."
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