1-15 Inf. Regt. remembers three fallen comrades

Photo By Staff Sgt. James Hutto | Sgt. 1st Class Peter Black, Smiths Station, Ala., the acting first sergeant of Company A, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, performs roll call during the memorial service of Sgt. Daniel McCall, Flint, Mich., Spc. Rush Jenkins, Roanoke, Va., and Pfc. Cody Carver, Tulsa, Oak. at Combat Outpost Cahill Oct. 4. The three Company A soldiers were killed Oct. 30 when an improvised explosive device detonated under the Bradley fighting vehicle they were in during a combat patrol outside Salman Pak.  

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, IRAQ

11.06.2007

Story by Spc. James Hutto 

3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division

By Spc. Ben Hutto
3rd HBCT Public Affairs

FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, Iraq – Soldiers, leaders, and friends of Company A, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment attended a memorial service Nov. 4 for three fallen comrades at Combat Outpost Cahill.

Sgt. Daniel McCall, from Flint, Mich., Spc. Rush Jenkins, from Roanoke, Va., and Pfc. Cody Carver, from Tulsa, Okla., all with Company A, were killed Oct. 30 when an improvised explosive device detonated under the Bradley Fighting Vehicle they were in during a combat patrol outside Salman Pak.

Soldiers from the 1-15th Inf. Regt. listened as close friends and leaders spoke at the podium next to the rifles, Kevlar helmets, dog tags, and boots of McCall, Jenkins and Carver.

Sgt. Jeffrey Houghton described McCall as an outstanding noncommissioned officer who always put his Soldiers above himself.

"He was the strongest person I'll ever know, but he was a teddy bear inside," Houghton said. "He was a great friend."

McCall is survived by his wife, Brittany McCall, and his mother, Petra Bennefield.

Spc. Dustin Tarwater, who was in Jenkins' squad, described his friend as someone who made everyone around him smile.

"In a place and time where there was so much to complain and be frustrated about, he never did any of those," Tarwater said. "No matter how big or small the task was, all you would here out of his mouth was 'Roger that'."

Jenkins is survived by his father, Rickey Jenkins.

Pvt. Kyle Mace from Company A, a close friend of Carver, spoke to the audience about his fallen comrade.

"Even though Carver was not here for long, he was happy to be a part of a team and a platoon," Mace said. "It didn't take him long to fit in."

Carver is survived by his father, Darrel Lee Carver, and his mother, Pamela Lynn Carver.

The 1-15th Inf. Regt. is attached to the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, from Fort Benning, Ga., and has been deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since March.

• Date Taken: 11.06.2007
• Date Posted: 11.06.2007 15:29
• Story ID: 13690
• Location: FORWARD OPERATING BASE HAMMER, IQ