'We Remember'

  • Published
  • By Lois Walsh
  • 96th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla --  Fourteen names. Fourteen young lives lost in service to their country. 

"We remember." 

That phrase rang across the Kauffman Explosive Ordnance Disposal Training Complex April 21 for the 38th annual memorial service. Hundreds of friends, family and service people remembered loved ones and fellow EOD technicians whose lives were lost this past year while serving their country.

Karie Darga was one grieving widow who clutched her daughter Kailey and a folded American flag tightly. Her husband, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Chief Paul Darga, was killed in August. She said it takes her faith to get through the ordeal. 

"Lots of prayer and lots of leaning on the community," Mrs. Darga said. "It's one big family and everyone in the community is going to grieve and we can all get through it better if we do it together." 

That's how Arthur Craig and his wife survive, one day at a time. Their son Brian was an Army EOD technician who was killed in Kandahar, Afghanistan. April 15, 2002. Brian's name was added to the wall in 2003. 

"We have continued to stay involved ever since then; we've chosen to celebrate his life and encourage other people who are going though the same thing to do so," Mr. Craig said. "Five years later, sometimes the hurt is just as fresh the day it happened; you think you're doing okay and then something reminds you. But you pick up the pieces and move forward, I think that's what Brian would want us to do." 

Mr. Craig leans on his faith as well, drawing on his experience as the pastor of a Baptist deaf church in Houston, Texas. He offered the invocation Saturday, hoping his words would bring comfort to the families present. 

"This morning we are so grateful for the privilege to stand in the company of American heroes," he intoned. "We have gathered as family friends and comrades to remember and celebrate their lives shall never forget." 

U.S. Navy Capt. Thomas Green, EOD school commander, introduced Rear Admiral Donald Bullard, Commander, Navy Expeditionary Combat Command, Norfolk, VA. The general said it was a time to honor and reflect, grieve and console, and transition and carry on. 

"We're here to honor those 14 individuals who've given their lives to the country and reflect on 67 years of EOD joint history," the admiral said. "We're here to grieve and console our families, for we've lost a love one, a shipmate, a friend, a warrior. We're also here to transition and carry on in their memory. While we will not forget, but always remember, there's still an important mission ahead of us."