'They matter': U.S. Army Special Operations Command remembers its soldiers
There are 1,242 names etched onto the U.S. Army Special Operations Command’s memorial wall of special operation forces soldiers killed while serving their country.
The fallen soldiers were remembered and their Gold Star families were honored during the command’s memorial ceremony held Thursday at Fort Bragg.
The families are part of the Army special operations forces family, said Lt. Gen. Jonathan Braga, commander of the U.S. Army Special Operations Command.
Braga told the Gold Star families that their loved ones’ lives mattered to partner forces “fighting terrorists in places like the Philippines, Syria and Iraq.”
“Their bravery and courage kept our enemies at bay and our homeland safe,” he said. “They led the way. They freed the oppressed. They never quit. They matter to our nation.”
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Braga said while the names of the fallen soldiers are on memorial walls, they are also remembered by their teammates.
“We see their pictures,” he said. “We read their stories on a memorial wall or building entrance. We hold meetings with them in conference rooms bearing their name.”
Braga challenged current soldiers to talk to the Gold Star families to hear the stories about their loved ones.
“Those of us who personally knew the fallen soldiers on this wall will not live forever,” he said. “It is our responsibility to ensure their memory is carried on through the future generations. Let the living breathe the message of the fallen.”
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Capt. Kyle Aaron Comfort
Ellen Comfort attended Thursday’s ceremony to honor her son, 27-year-old Capt. Kyle Aaron Comfort, of Jacksonville, Alabama.
Capt. Comfort was killed May 8, 2010, when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device while he was on a mission in Afghanistan serving with the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment.
Kyle’s grandfather was a World War II veteran, Ellen Comfort said after Thursday’s ceremony.
“Kyle, from the time he was a little boy, all he ever wanted to be was an Army Ranger,” his mother said. “He wanted to be an officer, and he achieved that. He achieved all the goals that he had set out for himself. Unfortunately, it was quite short. So, a sadness for me is, I don’t know what could have been.”
Ellen Comfort said her son was a selfless extrovert who “trained hard and loved hard.”
Shortly after her son’s death, Comfort said, she didn’t know how she’d “get through the initial shock.”
The Army gave her pamphlets, one of which said families can participate in the things their loved ones did.
“So, what I did was become an adventurer,” Comfort said. “The Army gave me the opportunity to jump out of an airplane.”
With other Gold Star families honoring their loved ones, she’s climbed the highest peak in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro, rode horseback for several days on a cattle drive and climbed Gold Star Peak in Alaska
“By living my life as fully as I possibly can, I believe that I’m giving them the honor they deserve if I continue to live a good life,” Comfort said.
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Spc. John Pelham
Spc. John Pelham, 22, of Portland, Oregon, died Feb. 12, 2014, when his unit came under enemy fire in Afghanistan.
Also killed was Sgt. 1st Class Roberto Skelt, 31, of York, Florida.
Pelham and Skelt served with the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group.
Pelham was a 6-foot-2-inch tall athlete who was “a goofball” in high school, his father, Wendall Pelham, said after Thursday’s ceremony.
Service was instilled in Capt. Pelham from a young age. His grandfather was a Vietnam-era veteran who served in the Army for decades, and his uncle served with the Rangers, Wendall Pelham said.
“At the end of his junior year, we had a conference with his counselor, and he was not going to graduate from high school on time,” the elder Pelham said.
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Faced with not graduating on time, the younger Pelham attended a military school operated by the National Guard’s Youth Challenge Program.
Pelham said his son recouped his credits to graduate on time and attended a small college on a baseball scholarship.
But halfway through the season, Pelham returned home and told his father he gave the scholarship back so another student could benefit from it and that he was “wasting his time” and would be joining the Army.
Wendell Pelham said his son told him he “aced” the military aptitude test and wanted to be a signals intelligence analyst.
“John’s passion, his innate spirit, was to always protect the underdog. In high school, if bullies were picking on people, John would be the one to tell them, ‘That’s enough,’” Pelham said.
Pelham said shortly after his son’s death, three of his son's high school friends designed a bracelet.
“One of them said, ‘I need to be more intentional in living my life, like John,’” Pelham said.
The bracelet has Pelham’s date of birth and date of death on one side and “Live like John” written on the other.
The elder Pelham said he encourages everyone to be intentional and to serve, whether it’s in the military, with a church, in the Peace Corps or serving the local community.
Pelaham said his intention is to wake up each day to make his son proud.
“It’s not a burden — the death of our son — because we know his memory and his legacy is more important than anything we have to deal with,” Pelham said.
Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-2528.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Army special operation forces remember killed in action soldiers
