Memorial brings closure to Soldiers and perpetuates legacy of Maj. Gen. Harold Greene

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Whitney Houston | Members of Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan gather for a photo following a memorial ceremony where a newly-built memorial pavilion was dedicated on the International Security Assistance Force headquarters compound in Kabul, Afghanistan, Nov. 11, 2014. The pavilion was dedicated to Maj. Gen. Harold Greene, who was killed Aug. 5, 2014, in Kabul, Afghanistan.  

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

11.11.2014

Story by Staff Sgt. Whitney Houston 

U.S. Forces Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan - Friends and Soldiers alike gathered to recognize the dedication of a pavilion memorializing Maj. Gen. Harold Greene on the International Security Assistance Force compound in Kabul, Afghanistan, Nov. 11, 2014.

Greene was killed in Kabul on Aug. 5, 2014, the highest-ranking Army officer killed by hostile fire since the Vietnam War; the pavilion will serve as a meeting place for Soldiers who work on the ISAF compound to remember Greene’s leadership and friendly nature and relax from daily cares. The pavilion was personalized with items to remember Greene’s passion for Soldiers and sports.

“General Greene was a huge Boston fan: Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots. He eats, sleeps and breaths Boston,” said Maj. Michelle Carter, who serves as a finance officer with NATO Afghan National Army, Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan. “He would have lunch in this area daily and talk about sports and meet with command staff. So we decided to personalize two of the picnic tables and paint one for the Boston Red Sox, and the other for the New England Patriots.”

Carter, a Baltimore native, explained that both ends of the pavilion will bear quotes for which Greene was well known, to remember and perpetuate his influence.

“General Greene was really big on doing something that contributed to the team, or doing something different to complete the mission,” Carter said. “One of his quotes that we’ve hung up is, ‘Make your time matter.’ Having that out there for people to read will prompt people to find out about him.”

Carter explained that there were a lot of engineering Soldiers and volunteers that helped to carry out her vision of Greene’s memorial, many of which were present the day Greene was killed. She said the Soldiers’ efforts provided a level of closure from the traumatic events of Aug. 5, when Greene was killed in an attack in Kabul.

“There’s definitely been a personal connection to General Greene with this project because he was our general,” said Lt. Col. Joel Quinn, an Albuquerque, New Mexico, native who serves as director of the Combined Joint Engineers, CSTC-A. “We were his engineers, and sometimes for engineers it’s hard to communicate how much someone means to you, so we build things to memorialize them. Hopefully, this pavilion will stand as a symbol for not only what Maj. Gen. Greene meant to us, but what all of our fallen mean to us.”

Carter thought to build the memorial shortly after Greene’s death in hopes to assist Soldiers cope and ensure his legacy lives on. Carter also finished a task that Greene had started as a means to provide funding for building materials the pavilion would require.

“After the incident, I spent about a week at my desk very emotional and withdrawn. I needed to find a way to turn this negative energy into something positive,” Carter said. “Prior to his demise, he (Greene) had been working on a coin for himself to give to Soldiers that deserve recognition. So I thought it would be neat to finish that idea and make a coin in his memory, and use the proceeds to build the structure we’re standing on.”

Carter said what initially started out as a sketch on a piece of butcher-block paper evolved into something much bigger because of unexpected support that inundated her desk from all over the states, from people who knew and loved Greene.

Col. Brian Miller, a native of Red Bank, New Jersey, who serves as a senior adviser for the Construction and Property Management Division, CSTC-A, and who worked on Greene’s staff said that having a place where people will gather is very fitting of General Greene because he cared about Soldiers and people in general.

“He was about serving other people. He always brought a breath of fresh air and light to this sometimes dark place, and this area was his area. He spent a lot of time here. He coached Soldiers here. So being able to put a little memorial up for him is nice for the Soldiers. It’s kind of sad that he’s not here, but at least it keeps him in our memories.”

• Date Taken: 11.11.2014
• Date Posted: 11.11.2014 23:49
• Story ID: 147576
• Location: KABUL, AF
• Hometown: ALBUQUERQUE, NM, US
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