14th Cavalry remembers Thunder Horse Soldier

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Steven Petibone | SGT Needleman; Sgt. Mejia Memorial, 5 June 2006. In the Community Affairs Center on Forward Operating Base Marez, Mosul, Iraq, Soldiers of Troop D, 4th Squadron, 14th Cavalry, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team and civilians gathered to pay their last respects to fellow-Soldier, Benjamin E. Mejia. Mejia served as an Unmanned Ariel Vehicle operator for the 172nd.  

MOSUL, IRAQ

06.10.2006

Courtesy Story

138th Public Affairs Detachment

MOSUL, Iraq (5 June, 2006) -- In the Community Affairs Center on Forward Operating Base Marez, Mosul, Iraq, Soldiers of Troop D, 4th Squadron, 14th Cavalry, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team and civilians gathered to pay their last respects to fellow-Soldier, Benjamin E. Mejia.

Mejia served as an Unmanned Ariel Vehicle operator for the 172nd. "He was a critical member of the Dark Horse surveillance team," said Lt. Col. Mark A. Freitag, commander, 14th Cav. "This UAV team has new Soldiers, new equipment, new tactics and most importantly, new opportunities. As a UAV pilot, Sgt. Mejia was part of a great team. Day in and day out he flew missions in support of this brigade."

Mejia was born March 31, 1981, in Salem, Mass. He enlisted in the
U. S. Army on June 5, 2003. He completed Basic Training at Fort Sill, Okla., and later completed the Shadow UAV Operator Course at Fort Huachuca, Ariz. He was then assigned to Trp. D, 4th Sqdn., 14th Cav., 172nd SBCT at Fort Wainwright, Alaska.

"He not only made a contribution to the UAV team, he made contributions to every Soldier on the ground and it ultimately affected the brigade," said Capt. Michael R. Greene, commander, Trp. D. "Sgt. Mejia was the Soldier behind the scenes supporting the war fighter to the best of his ability. He would watch from above as (ground) operations were conducted or reconning enemy routes and activity areas."

"Ben Mejia was a good Soldier. He never accepted anything less than the best. Not at work and not in his personal life," said Sgt. Kenneth A. McLeod, UAV operator, Trp. D, "He made friends just about everywhere he went."

According to Sgt. David E. Needleman, he met Mejia in basic training at Fort Sill. His favorite thing to do on weekends was to go off-base and meet a girlfriend. This was my first and lasting impression of him. Here was a man who made the ladies happy. Ben was outspoken, he didn't care who you were or what you had pinned on your chest, he"d tell it like it was.

Sergeant 1st Class David L. Hansen read the Lord's Prayer from Psalm 23 followed by Capt. (Chaplain) James J. Foster, 14th Cav., who delivered a meditation message by quoting from Alexander Wolcott. "There is no such thing in any ones life as an unimportant day." He went on to relate this quote to Sgt. Mejia's commitment to his service to his country.

"So each and every day that we are given is a gift and what we commit ourselves to, is almost as important as waking up,"said Foster. "Sgt. Mejia committed himself to the United States of America and in so doing he took apart in what America has done and what the nation has done around the globe. Think of what Sgt. Mejia has accomplished not only for himself and for America, but for all humanity."

• Date Taken: 06.10.2006
• Date Posted: 06.10.2006 11:41
• Story ID: 6781
• Location: MOSUL, IQ