Photo By Sgt. David Cox | U.S. Army Sgt. Ethan Ball (left) of Hiawatha, Kan., and Sgt. Thomas George (right) of...... read more read more
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LAGHMAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan – During 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division’s deployment to Afghanistan in 2010, they lost one of their brightest young officers, and for the “Strike” Soldiers who remembered him best, the loss of 1st Lt. Eric Yates the loss was tragic.
To ensure that Yates’ memory would never be forgotten, the Western Kentucky University ROTC, where he attended, puts on a memorial run anniversary of his death.
Throughout Afghanistan, Soldiers with the 2nd BCT participated in “shadow runs” Sept. 18, 2014. Across five forward operating bases in Afghanistan, hundreds of Strike Soldiers ran to honor the memory of Yates, who died on the same day in 2010 in the Zhari district of Kandahar province when his unit hit an improvised explosive device.
Yates, who grew up in Rineyville, Ky., served as a field artillery officer during Strike’s 2010-11 deployment with Company B, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd BCT.
Yates’ friends said that he was proud to serve in the 101st Airborne Division, in the footsteps of his grandfather, and that, to Yates, being a Soldier to was just a part of being an American.
“He was the quiet professional who believed in his job and country and did not falter when his buddies needed him,” said U.S. Army Capt. Tyler Reid, who was also his college classmate. “To Eric, it went beyond awards or rank or getting a retirement.”
During a senate session in 2012, Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell opened with this about Yates: “It is a great loss that 1st Lt. Eric Yates will not have a long and happy life himself with the opportunities to share those lessons and many more with the people that fill that life, but I am honored to be able to share them now with my colleagues in the United States Senate. And I am honored to stand here today and recognize Lt. Yates's heroic service and the solemn sacrifice he has made on behalf of a loving family, a proud commonwealth, and a grateful nation.”
In a statement read at his memorial service, Yates inspired others to go out and do something they wouldn’t normally do.
“Get out there and do something you wouldn't normally do,” he wrote. “You will see and do some really cool stuff and meet some really fine and interesting people. Once an Army buddy and I ate breakfast with a homeless man in Oklahoma City, and I must say he left an impression on me.”
The run also gave Strike Soldiers an opportunity to learn about Yates and become familiar with his story.
“I didn’t know him personally before I ran or anything about him, but information I gathered from others speaking on him I can tell he was a great leader,” said U.S. Army Sgt. Thomas George, network operations noncommissioned officer in charge with Company C, 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd BCT and a native of Union City, Ga. “During the run I was constantly thinking: I am running for people who can no longer run. It has definitely left an impression on me.”
U.S. Army Capt. Samantha Reid, 2nd BCT’s preventive medicine officer with Company C, 526th Brigade Support Battalion, said his mother, Kathy, has worked tirelessly to keep his spirit alive.
“One of the best has been the 1st Lt. Eric Yates Memorial Scholarship fund which gives scholarships to ROTC cadets at Western Kentucky University [WKU]annually,” said Reid. “She has worked tirelessly to keep his spirit alive in all of our hearts.”
She added that he was inducted into the WKU ROTC hall of fame and has a memorial, carved in granite, which now adorns the Guthrie Bell Tower at WKU: http://wkuherald.com/news/article_9781816a-eafb-11e0-b1cd-0019bb30f31a.html.
| Date Taken: | 09.23.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 09.23.2014 06:05 |
| Story ID: | 142956 |
| Location: | LAGHMAN PROVINCE, AF |
| Hometown: | RINEYVILLE, KY, US |
| Hometown: | UNION CITY, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 81 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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