Fort Bragg Special Forces soldiers continue legacy of family members killed in action
FORT BRAGG — For some Gold Star families, remembering their loved ones who were killed in combat isn’t confined to one federal holiday a year.
During a memorial ceremony Thursday at Fort Bragg, Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, commander of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, told the gathered Gold Star families that they will “always be cherished members of the USASOC family.”
“No one continues to sacrifice more or continues to carry the heavy burden more than the spouses, children, parents, grandparents of our Gold Star families," Braga said. “Our fallen heroes loved you, and so do we.”
Related reporting: U.S. Army Special Operations Command honors last Fort Bragg soldier killed in Afghanistan
Braga said the soldiers, who were killed during the past 20 years, made a difference in the world and in the lives of Afghans or Iraqis.
“It made a difference in numerous, hot, dusty and obscure locations across multiple continents giving hope to those who had none and answering the prayers of those who never lost hope but did not know how their prayers would be answered,” he said. “As they took the fight to the enemy across the globe, America remains safe today. “
Of the 1,242 U.S. Army Special Operations Command soldiers killed in combat, 378 died during the most recent Global War on Terror.
Braga encouraged Special Forces soldiers in the crowd to learn their names and to speak to the Gold Star families.
Some of the families remain connected to the Army, with brothers or sons of the fallen soldiers also serving.
These are a few of those families.
Capt. Ron Luce
Capt. Ronald G. Luce, 27, of Fayetteville, died during an enemy roadside bomb attack Aug. 2, 2009, in Afghanistan.
Luce served as the special forces team commander for Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group, headquartered in Jackson, Mississippi.
His mother, Katherine Luce, described him as intelligent. He learned German in high school, minored in French in college and learned Arabic at the JFK Special Warfare Center and School.
Capt. Luce commissioned into the Army National Guard in 2002 as a second lieutenant after attending Valley Forge Military College, and he completed his bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State and Belmont University in biology.
His mother said he wanted to be a pediatric oncologist but was committed to service.
His grandfather served during World War II, his uncle served during the Vietnam War and his father also served in the military.
Katherine Luce said her son was committed to serving with the Special Forces.
When he was going through the qualification course, she said one of his tests involved a mock mission and being offered money to change the mission.
Other soldiers gave him a hard time for refusing the money, his mother said.
“He stuck to his guns and said, no, it wasn’t right,” she said. “So he was picked to be selected because he wouldn’t compromise.”
Katherine Luce said her son wasn’t the type to sit back and was always ready for a mission.”
He was returning from one when killed by terrorists, she said.
Sgt. 1st Class Alejandro Granado III, 42, of Virginia, and Sgt. 1st Class Severin W. Summers III, 43, of Mississippi, were also killed in the blast.
“We weren’t allowed to view him, but we flew up to Dover when his body was returned, and just — it felt like I was in a dream and kept expecting to wake up, but we know where he is, and it gives me great comfort,” Katherine Luce said.
She said the family is Christian and she is confident in her son’s faith.
“One minute he’s driving on an Afghan road breathing in the dust, and the next he’s standing there in front of Jesus breathing heavenly air,” she said.
Katherine Luce said four other sons also serve in the Army.
Capt. Luce’s oldest brother is a lieutenant colonel and commander of a demilitarized zone in Korea.
One younger brother is an artillery officer at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, another just graduated from the Special Forces course, and his youngest brother is a master fitness trainer and platoon leader with the 82nd Airborne Division.
Katherine Luce said she thinks Ronald’s service has motivated not only his brothers but others.
She said her son-in-law worked in the finance field, but also joined the Army after Ronald’s death.
“Everybody was affected by his death,” Katherine said. "It just made my husband say, ‘I don’t want to leave anything on the table. When I see Ronnie in heaven, I want to know I gave it my all —whatever I’m doing in this life.’”
Katherine Luce said with Ronald’s brothers serving, the family has stayed connected to soldiers who knew him.
A medic, who was in the vehicle that was behind Capt. Luce’s when he was killed, told one of his brothers that the blast was instant and he did not suffer.
Katherine Luce said other soldiers have reached out to the family through email.
She said her son was compassionate but also a competitor. He was quiet but could be entertaining.
“He had a sense of humor — I think that’s what we miss the most is the incredible jokes,” she said.
She said her son had no regrets about joining the military.
“He was doing what he felt like he was called to do and if he’d known how it was going to end, I’m sure he would have done it again,” she said.
Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright
Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright, 29, of Lyons, Georgia, died Oct. 4, 2017, during an enemy attack while deployed to Niger, West Africa.
Also killed were Jeremiah Johnson, 39, of Springboro, Ohio; Sgt. LaDavid Johnson, 25, of Miami Gardens, Florida; and Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, 35, of Puyallup, Washington.
A close family member of Wright, who is not being identified because he now serves in Special Forces, said Wright was his best friend.
“He was a goofball,” the family member said. “Life was a little chaotic growing up, and as long as we had each other it was good. He loved to dance. He was the life of the party.”
Wright came from a military family. His father and mother served, and the family member also served in the Army but was separated from the service at this time of Staff Sgt. Wright’s death.
The family member said he returned to active duty in 2020 and joined Special Forces.
“I personally had unfinished business, and with the passing of (Wright) I felt like I could still make an impact and try to do the best I could to help others who have gone through what we’ve gone through,” he said.
Though Wright was his best friend, he said he’s had the chance to hear more about Wright from soldiers who served alongside him.
“It’s like getting a little piece of him back when you hear one of those stories,” he said.
Sgt. 1st Class Justin Monschke
Sgt. 1st Class Justin Monschke died after being wounded by a roadside bomb Oct. 14, 2007, in Iraq.
He served as a weapons sergeant with the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group.
His father Larry Monschke said his son decided to join the Army when he was a junior in high school. His stepmother Ginny Monschke said that Justin always wanted to be a soldier.
“Justin would get down in the ditch with a stick and aim at people in the trenches,” she said. “He always wanted to be the toughest of the tough.”
Justin, she said, epitomized being a “quiet professional.”
Sgt. 1st Class Monschke’s children were ages 6 and 4 when he died.
His daughter Ashley, now grown, said one of the few memories she has of her father was when he’d take her and her brother to the park near Fort Bragg.
Ginny Monschke said Justin enjoyed riding four-wheelers and motorcycles.
A close family member said that even before Monschke was killed, he knew he wanted to follow in his footsteps. The family member joined the Army at 17 right after high school and is now in Special Forces.
“I wanted to do a different job than what (he) did but stay in the same community because growing up in this community of (Special Forces) guys and all that, it’s a great community — very close bonds with these guys,” the close family member said.
Ginny Monschke said Special Forces soldiers and fellow Gold Star families will always be a part of their family.
“They all have a devotion to our country, and Justin was definitely part of that,” she said.
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Special Forces soldiers remember killed in action family members
