Spec ops soldiers honored on Bragg memorial - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Spec ops soldiers honored on Bragg memorial

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Military generals and the families of fallen soldiers were among hundreds of people who attended a ceremony Thursday to honor 37 special operations soldiers killed during combat in the past year, as well as five men who died during the Korean War.

The names of the soldiers were etched into a memorial wall at Fort Bragg, bringing the total to almost 1,000 names of Green Berets and Army Rangers. Five soldiers killed during the Korean War also were added, including one man whose mission was only recently declassified.

“Their deeds are legends and we will recount them for years,” Lt. Gen. Richard Wagner, commander of the Army Special Operations Command, told about 500 people sitting under tents on a plaza at this large Army base.

The soldiers killed in the last year were “fighting what will probably become our nation’s longest war,” Wagner said, adding that the soldiers “come from strong families, and communities of character.”

Among those honored was Sgt. Jimmy Regan, a graduate of Duke University who became an Army Ranger after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The collapse of the World Trade Center towers in New York killed many people he knew, his father said.

“It’s a special day. It’s very good closure for the family,” said his father, James Regan of Manhasset, N.Y. “He was raised a patriot. He was very well educated and very well read.”

The younger Regan served double tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, earning a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and several other medals. His father said Regan chose to become a noncommissioned officer because it would ensure his unit would see battle.

Regan’s fiancee, Mary McHugh, has said they planned to marry next year after Regan’s military duty ended.

The ceremony was also attended by Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander of the 18th Airborne Corps., along with 17 other generals or their representatives, Wagner said.

The ceremony followed an 82nd Airborne Division memorial held Wednesday that honored 59 paratroopers killed in combat during the past year.

Related reading:

Staff report featuring the names of the 37 added to the memorial