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Reporter’s Notebook: Crying for soldiers we never met

BAGHDAD, Iraq – I’ve always wondered how life and the choices you make can take you to places you never thought you’d go and put you with people you never imagined you’d meet.

Sometimes, it’s the people you’ll never meet who make the biggest impression.

I attended a memorial service last Tuesday for two soldiers who were killed while fighting an attack on their combat outpost in central Ramadi.

I never got the chance to meet Spc. Alan McPeek, 20, and Pvt. Matthew Zeimer, 18, but listening to their friends and fellow soldiers, I couldn’t help but cry for the loss of their young lives.

McPeek was just hours away from leaving COP Grant for Camp Ramadi. He was finally on his way home after 14 long months in Iraq. He was with A Company, 10th Engineer Battalion, attached to Task Force 1-37 Armor. Zeimer, fresh out of basic training, had arrived at COP Grant just two hours earlier. He was with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor. This day, Feb. 2, would be his first and last day at COP Grant.

The two soldiers must have been settling in for the night when the enemy launched a sophisticated and intense attack on the COP. They ran to the roof together to fight back. McPeek was looking out for his comrade, his brother, teaching him the best way to fight back and stay safe.

They died together when a round fired from what commanders believe was a recoilless rifle blasted through the reinforced wall in front of them.

More than 350 soldiers gathered during the 40-minute service to honor these two brave men and maybe find some comfort in one another. As the soldiers filed to the front of the room, each took the time to touch their brothers’ dog tags, place their hands on their helmets or leave small mementos by their combat boots. Some knelt down and said a small, private prayer.

I never met McPeek and Zeimer, but I could sense in the room the bond shared only by men who’ve fought together and for each other. photographer James J. Lee and I felt that it was important to be there, important for us to honor these two young men and their courage and sacrifice in our own small way.

Lee and I are now in Baghdad, preparing for the second leg of our assignment in Iraq. But in the three weeks we spent in Ramadi, I met many extraordinary people; soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen who all put their lives on hold to serve in Iraq.

Many have been to Iraq before, and every soldier I met who’s been here before told me he never takes anything for granted, because anything can happen here. There’s a chance they may not make it home.

Sometimes I wonder what I’m doing here. I wasn’t told to come here. Just like the rest of my colleagues, I volunteered. I hate that I’ve put my parents in a constant state of worry, I miss the comforts of home and I get scared sometimes. but when I start talking to the soldiers, I remember why I’m here.

They’re just regular guys who are here to do their jobs, take care of one another and go home to their families. They look after the soldier on their right and the soldier on their left. They miss their families. They watch movies to kill time. They wait in line to use the phone to call home. They have plans for the future, children to hold and watch grow.

To all the guys I had the opportunity to meet, talk to, spend time with, go on patrol with, eat with and live with in Ramadi, I say a heartfelt thank you. Thank you for sharing your lives and stories with me.

To the troops going home after a long, tiring year of battle, I wish you safe travels and a warm welcome home. To those who just got here, I wish you a safe and productive deployment, because I hope I never have to cover a memorial service again.

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