Stryker Brigade News

Stryker Soldiers Mourned

Sep-24-2009 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT , 5/2 SBCT

The News Tribune was there as Ft. Lewis held two memorials for Stryker soldiers from the 3/2 SBCT and 5/2 SBCT.

The true toll of a Stryker rollover in Iraq earlier this month was two lives ended, but countless others impacted.

Staff Sgt. Todd W. Selge and Sgt. Jordan M. Shay died in the accident on Sept. 3. Selge leaves behind a widow and two sons; Shay, a fiancée whom he planned to marry when he returned from Iraq next year.

And the death shook many members of Fort Lewis' 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, which avoided losing any of its soldiers through the first month of its yearlong deployment to Iraq. Many of them gathered Thursday afternoon at the Main Post Chapel on Fort Lewis for a memorial ceremony honoring the lives of Selge and Shay.

First Lt. David T. Wright II taught fellow soldiers what he learned from years of martial arts and collegiate track and field. Sgt. Andrew H. McConnell was known for his high-intensity attitude, no matter what the situation.

Both left impressions of being leaders among their peers, but now their colleagues in the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division must continue the mission of battling the Taliban in southern Afghanistan without them. The two soldiers were killed Sept. 14 when a roadside bomb detonated near their Stryker vehicle.

Hundreds gathered at Fort Lewis’ North Fort Chapel on Thursday to pay respects to the two soldiers, assigned to the brigade’s 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment. Commanders delivered speeches, friends eulogized the fallen and tears flowed during the final roll call, rifle salute and playing of taps.