FORT CARSON, Colo.-
Undeniably noble, unceasingly selfless and unquestionably honorable.
Those were the words Col. James Ellison, a chaplain, chose for a memorial service Thursday for three Fort Carson soldiers who died in Iraq last month.
Sgt. Alexander Fuller and Spc. Michael Balsley were killed Jan. 25 by a roadside bomb that exploded near their Humvee in Baghdad.
Pfc. Allen Jaynes died Jan. 20 when a bomb detonated near his Humvee, also in Baghdad.
All three were in the 2nd Brigade Combat Team’s 3rd Battalion, 61st Cavalry Regiment.
Fuller had gone to Baghdad after turning down a desk job.
“He was not going to abandon his men,” Staff Sgt. Ralf Genz said.
Fuller, who had been a landscaper in Boston, joined the Army in 2004. He married his longtime girlfriend, Stacy, before shipping off for a year in Korea. His daughter is due in a few weeks.
Balsley’s survivors include a 14-month-old son who wanders through his home clutching a bear with a recording of his father’s voice.
Balsley’s widow, Samantha, said the pain of losing her husband is incredible.
“It has been hell,” she said. “It’s like the worst dream you can possibly imagine, times 10.”
Spc. Jacob Keiffer, who served with Jaynes, remembered his friend as smart and someone who liked to crack jokes.
“Whether he meant to or not, he was always better than most of us,” Keiffer said.
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Information from: The Gazette,
