WEBVTT

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Honored guests , distinguished

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community leaders , friends and family

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on behalf of 1st Battalion , 5 or 3rd

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Infantry , 173rd Infantry Brigade

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combat Team Airborne , welcome to

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today's dedication ceremony for

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Vitaliano Hall and the 1st 50 3rd

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Global War on Terror Memorial . It is

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my pleasure to introduce our

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distinguished guests , Mrs . Lucia

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Curry , Gold Star spouse . Major

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General Andrew Gay , commander ,

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Southern European Task Force , Africa ,

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and his spouse Mrs . Gay . Command

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Sergeant Major Chad Harness , Command

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Sergeant Major , Southern European Task

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Force , Africa , and his spouse , Mrs .

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Harness . Colonel Mark Bush , commander ,

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173rd Infantry Brigade combat Team ,

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Airborne . Command Sergeant

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Major Joshua Peterson , Command

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Sergeant Major 173rd Infantry Brigade

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combat Team Airborne . Colonel Vaughan

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Strong , Commander , United States Army

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Garrison , Italy , and his spouse , Mrs .

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Strong . Command Sergeant Major Ricardo

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Moreno , Command Sergeant Major ,

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United States Army Garrison , Italy ,

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and his spouse , Mrs . Moreno . Mr .

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Jim Matin , 1 73rd Infantry Brigade

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combat Team Airborne , and his spouse ,

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Colonel retired Barb Trent . The host

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for today's ceremony is the commander

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of 1st Battalion , 503rd Infantry ,

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Lieutenant Colonel Travis Young .

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Ladies and gentlemen , please stand for

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the invocation led by the 1st Battalion ,

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5 or 3rd Infantry chaplain , Captain

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Van Brugen .

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Would you join with me as I pray over

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this special occasion ? Almighty God ,

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we gather in the present to remember

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our past and to set an asuth for the

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future . This memorial wall reminds us

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of the many sacrifices made on the

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altar of freedom . It reminds us that

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we are each written into a story in

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which greatness has been so well

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defined . We reflect now upon these

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things as we carefully consider our

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future , for as the fallen remind us of

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our storied past , this building stands

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to remind us of the sacred trust of the

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American people today and every day .

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This great cloud of witnesses together

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demand that we continue our service

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with faith and honor . Because it is

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our duty to honor this sacred trust and

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to carry on this legacy , we dedicate

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this building today . May all that

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happens in these hallways prepare us

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for a battlefield yet unknown . And may

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you work in the hallway of each of our

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hearts that whether here or there , our

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lives will be marked by all that you

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desire to see in us . God bless our

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paratroopers , these gold star families

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wherever they're at , our families ,

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and every hand that labored to make

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this building possible . In your name I

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pray . Amen .

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Ladies and gentlemen , please be seated .

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Today we honor the memory of Staff

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Sergeant Thomas Vitaliano and dedicate

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1st Battalion , 5 or 3rd Infantry

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headquarters , Vitaliano Hall in his

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memory . Staff Sergeant Battaliano , a

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native of New Haven , Connecticut ,

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enlisted in the Marines at age 17 ,

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serving 4 years in the Marines' 2nd

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reconnaissance battalion . He later

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went on to join the army and was

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assigned a 1st battalion , 5 or 3rd

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Infantry Regiment at Camp Casey , Korea .

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He was described by friends and family

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as having a childlike side that was

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contagious , magnetic , and larger than

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life . He was a great guy , fun loving ,

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everybody's best friend if you knew him

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for 10 minutes . Known to the soldiers

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he led as Superman or Sergeant V , he

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is remembered for his deep commitment

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to his country and to his family .

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Staff Sergeant Vitaliano was killed in

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action on January 17 , 2005 at the age

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of 33 in Ramadi , Iraq when a vehicle

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borne improvised explosive device

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detonated near his position . Staff

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Sergeant Vitaliano saved two of his

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soldiers' lives by placing himself in

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between the paratroopers and the

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explosion . Staff Sergeant Vitaliano

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was posthumously awarded the Silver

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Star . His heroic actions are in

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keeping with the highest standards of

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selfless service , and his legacy shall

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serve as an enduring example for 1st

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Battalion 5 or 3 infantry Regiment .

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At this time we also remember the 32

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fallen heroes from 1st Battalion , 5 or

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3rd Infantry Regiment that were lost in

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the global war on terror by reading

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aloud their names . Private First Class

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Jason L . Sparks , September 8 ,

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2004 .

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Sergeant John B . Trotter , November 9 ,

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2004 . Specialist

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Sergio R . Diaz Varela , November

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24 , 2004 .

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PV2 Brian K . Grant , November

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26th , 2004 .

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Specialist Harrison J . Meyer ,

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November 26 , 2004 .

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Private First Class Stephen C . Benish ,

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November 28 , 2004 .

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Sergeant Carl W . Lee , November 28 ,

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2004 . Staff

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Sergeant Michael B . Shackelford ,

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November 28 , 2004 .

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Specialist Daniel F . Guasta Ferro

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January 7 , 2005 .

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Specialist Michael J . Smith , January

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11 , 2005 .

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Private First Class Jesus Fonseca ,

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January 17 , 2005 .

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Specialist George R . Gere , January

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17 , 2005 .

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Staff Sergeant Thomas E . Vitaliano ,

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January 17 , 2005 .

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Specialist James H . Miller . January

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30 , 2005 .

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Specialist Michael A . Arceola ,

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February 15 , 2005 .

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Corporal Jacob M . Lowe , June 2 ,

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2007 .

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First Sergeant Michael S . Curry , July

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23 , 2007 .

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Sergeant Trayvon T . Johnson , July 23 ,

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2007 .

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Specialist Adam J . Davis , July 23 ,

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2007 . Private

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First Class Jessie S . Rogers . July

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23 , 2007 .

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Private First Class Thomas R . Wilson ,

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August 27 , 2007 .

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Specialist Matthew D . Taylor ,

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September 26 , 2007 .

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Sergeant Joshua C . Blaney , December

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12 , 2007 .

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Staff Sergeant Michael J . Gable ,

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December 12 , 2007 .

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Specialist Brian L . Gorham . December

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31 , 2007 .

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Sergeant Luis R . Fatua . July

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5 , 2010 .

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Specialist Justin L . Horsley . July

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22 , 2012 .

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Specialist Brendan and Salazar . July

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22 , 2012 .

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Specialist Theodore M . Glendy , July

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27 , 2012 .

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Private First Class Andrew J . Keller ,

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August 15 , 2012 .

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Private First Class Shane W . Cantu

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August 28 , 2012 .

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Sergeant Kyle B . Osborne , September

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13 , 2012 .

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Ladies and gentlemen . Please pause for

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a moment of silence for these fallen

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heroes .

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We now invite Mrs . Lucia Curry and

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Lieutenant Colonel Travis Young to

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unveil the 1st battalion , 503rd

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Infantry , Global War on Terror

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Memorial .

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Ladies and gentlemen , the commander of

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1st Battalion , 5 or 3rd Infantry ,

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Lieutenant Colonel Travis Young .

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Good morning . Thanks to our

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distinguished guests , family and

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friends from across the CAF Brigade ,

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Garrison , and our Italian communities

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for joining us today to honor our

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fallen heroes . A special thanks to Jim

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and Barb for attending today . The

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connection to our Vietnam Sky soldier

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Brothers is strong and a reminder of

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how special this brigade is . Most

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importantly , thank you to Ms . Curry

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for participating . It means a lot ,

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ma'am . We truly appreciate you , your

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sacrifice , and you standing with us

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here today . Today we recognize Sta

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Staff Sergeant Thomas Vitagliano and

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the 321 Rock paratroopers who gave

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their lives in defense of our great

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nation . These paratroopers bravely

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represented the United States during

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the global war on terror . In 2004

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during Operation Iraqi Freedom , First

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Battalion 503rd Infantry Regiment

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deployed to Ramadi , Iraq , considered

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the most dangerous city in the country

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at the time . Despite daily small arms ,

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rocket propelled grenades , and mortar

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attacks , they successfully

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accomplished their mission of reducing

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insurgent activity and safeguarding

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Iraqi elections . FirstRo deployed 3

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more times to Afghanistan in support of

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Operation Enduring Freedom , first in

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2007 in subduing Taliban insurgents in

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the mountainous regions of eastern

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Afghanistan along the Pakistan border .

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Then again in 2009 and 2012 to eastern

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Afghanistan fighting insurgent forces

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to secure critical provinces such as

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Logar and Wardak that are critical

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areas to protecting the capital city of

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Kabul . These 4 deployments were the

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most hostile areas in the global war on

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terror . Although Eagle always

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accomplished the mission , it did come

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at a cost , and the cost was our

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nation's treasure , America's sons who

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were Eagle paratroopers on this wall .

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Staff Sergeant Thomas Vitalian and the

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men we honor today raised their hand

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and volunteered to serve their country

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at the time of war , leaving their

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loved ones in homes and venturing in

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the most dangerous corners of the globe

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to defend our country and our freedoms .

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There are countless acts of acts of

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valor inspire us every day . I would

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ask every eagle paratrooper to reflect

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on the experience of these men every

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time they walk past this memorial or go

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into Vitaliano Hall . Seeing their

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names should inspire you to do 1% more

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and be 1% better every day . These

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names aren't just names on a piece of

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granite , they are real fathers ,

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husbands , sons . These dates aren't

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just dates . They are also real and

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surviving loved one's lives were

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changed forever on these days . A few

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weeks ago a good friend of mine who I

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served with as a lieutenant in Eagle

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came to visit Vicenzo with his family .

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We were deployed together in 2009 , and

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he deployed again in 2012 with Eagle .

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After catching up and visiting , I

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walked him around the Eagle footprint .

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Much still the same as when we were

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here before . We walked in my company

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headquarters , reminisced , looked at

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our old deployment photo , and then he

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wanted to go see the scouts who he

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deployed with in 2012 . We walked in

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the scouts area and he saw Sergeant

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Osborne's photo on the wall . He paused ,

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you could feel the emotion and memory

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stirring . He was with Sergeant Osborne

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when he passed in Afghanistan . After a

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few moments of silence , he smiled and

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said , you know what , sir , I'm gonna

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text his dad . He would love knowing

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his photo is still hanging in the

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scouts area . It means a lot every day .

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I can tell you these names , these

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dates , and these photos posted around

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Caerma Edderly and Del Dan are all real .

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Turn back the clock . They were the

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same paratroopers standing in formation

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before you . Honor them every day .

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It's our legacy . There is nothing we

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can do we can fully do to heal the pain

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left by the loss of these brave

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paratroopers , but we will strive every

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day to honor their memory by upholding

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the legacies of duty , selfless service ,

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and personal courage , values they

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embodied in life and in passing . First

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Battalion 503rd Infantry Regiment and

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the 173rd Sky Soldier Brigade will

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never forget the sacrifice of these men .

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Thank you again , everybody have a

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great week . Lions lead , sky soldiers

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first rock .

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At this time we would like to invite

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our Gold Star families and

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distinguished guests inside Vitaliano

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Hall for coffee and refreshments . This

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concludes the dedication ceremony .

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Thank you all for attending and paying

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tribute to our fallen heroes . Lions

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lead , sky soldiers first rock .