Amid the chaos and searing-hot shrapnel in remote Afghanistan, Sgt. Chris Falkel looked at one of his Special Forces comrades and smiled.
“I’ll take care of this,” the Green Beret said confidently, then turned his attention to the enemy.
The moment was one of the few details that Falkel’s father, Jeff, has been told since Chris Falkel was killed Monday while on a secret mission in southeastern Afghanistan.
His son’s words were passed along by the last person to see him alive.
“Since he was a boy, he wanted to be a soldier and never wanted to be anything else,” Jeff Falkel, of Highlands Ranch, said Thursday. “He was my warrior, he was my hero, and he was my son.”
Special Forces operate in secrecy and remember their dead in private, but Jeff Falkel said he is certain that one day the entire story of his son’s death in the firefight will be declassified.
Chris Falkel, 22, a 2001 graduate of ThunderRidge High School, was the second soldier from Colorado to be killed in action in Afghanistan when his 12-man commando unit came under small-arms fire in Deh Afghan, military sources said.
The fellow Green Beret who relayed Falkel’s final words also escorted his body back to the United States on Thursday, Jeff Falkel said.
Chris Falkel had been tagged with the nickname “SFBaby,” for “Special Forces Baby,” because he was among the youngest soldiers handpicked for elite commando training.
Right out of high school, Chris had one goal: to become a Green Beret. He enlisted a month before Sept. 11, 2001.
As Chris and his father watched the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Jeff Falkel said, Chris looked at him blankly and said, “Don’t worry, Dad, I’ll take care of this.”
After completing basic training, Chris Falkel was beaming as he presented his family with a letter from Special Forces Command. He had been accepted into a new program to recruit younger soldiers into the Green Berets, which traditionally was reserved for more experienced, battle-tested soldiers.
“They learned from his actions that age would not be an issue with Chris because he had the skills and the talent to do the job,” Jeff Falkel said.
Chris’ best friend, Matt Sahagun, a Marine, said Chris rose through the ranks quickly.
“He excelled at whatever was put in front of him in basic (training),” Sahagun said. “They recruited him for Special Forces … because they could see the potential in him.”
Chris was serving his second tour in Afghanistan, performing counterterrorism assignments and doing things he could not even share with his family or friends. He still found a way to call home last weekend to wish his mother a happy birthday.
“He assured me he was doing well, and … he had a lot of stories to tell,” Jeff Falkel said. “We just said we loved each other.”
In the past few months, Jeff Falkel, a strength and conditioning specialist, would begin each presentation with an apology: “I’m sorry if my cellphone goes off, but my son is a soldier in Afghanistan, and I never keep my phone farther than arm’s length.”
On Tuesday morning, as Falkel walked to his pickup, a pair of Army officers from Fort Carson pulled up with the news.
“I knew immediately what had happened,” he said. “Earlier that morning, I had just bought some Broncos T-shirts to send to Chris because one of the guys on his team is an Indianapolis Colts fan.”
The outpouring of support has been tremendous, family and friends said. Other Green Berets who served with Falkel have called the family to share stories and tears.
Jeff Falkel said he still keeps his cellphone nearby in case anyone in his son’s unit needs him.
“I feel like I lost a son but gained a unit of Green Berets as sons,” he said. “His Special Forces brothers were there for Chris when they needed him, and I’ll be there for any one of them.”
A memorial service for Chris Falkel is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Centennial. Another memorial service will be held Thursday at Fort Bragg. He is expected to be buried Aug. 20 at Arlington National Cemetery.
Staff writer Manny Gonzales can be reached at 303-820-1173 or mgonzales@denverpost.com.
