Fort Carson – Taps played outside the Soldiers Memorial Chapel on Wednesday as about 400 people gathered inside to remember 10 soldiers killed in Iraq.
At the front of the chapel, traditional memorials – boots, helmets, dog tags, M-16s and photographs – were set up for each lost member of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team.
Sgt. Joseph Latulippe said he is growing tired of the ritual.
“I hate it – there’s too much of them,” he said after the service.
Latulippe knew two of the soldiers honored Wednesday. He was in Iraq with Louis Niedermeier and Thor Ingraham when they died.
He described them as hard workers who cared about fellow soldiers. Ingraham was able to bring laughter to his unit during even the most trying times in Iraq, Latulippe said. Niedermeier, he said, was a quiet radio operator who always made sure everyone’s equipment worked in the field.
Friends and family members left the chapel with somber faces as they paid their respects to Niedermeier, Ingraham, Jason Hendrix, Juan Garcia, Nicolas Messmer, Phillip Edmundson, Antwan Walker, Neil Prince, Anthony Kinslow and Larry Kuhns.
Kinslow and his brother Owen joined the Army after the war in Iraq started.
Anthony Kinslow had filed papers to return just before being killed when his unit was ambushed with grenades June 13.
When soldiers approached the door of his home in Ohio, Kinslow’s father, Anthony, asked himself, “Which one of my sons is it?”
He said the Army turned his son from a quiet boy into a strong man.
He said Anthony was a dedicated soldier who saw the Army as a way to further his education.
Kinslow had plans to return home and marry his fiancée.
“Anthony was an excellent son (and) brother and would have made a great husband and wonderful father,” Kinslow said.
Pfc. Mark Zimmerman was a friend of Kinslow’s and was in Iraq when he died.
“Today is the hardest day of my life, having to speak about my friends who I’ll never see again,” Zimmerman said.
Staff writer Christopher Ortiz can be reached at 303-820-1201 or cortiz@denverpost.com.
