1-10 FA pays respects to fallen warrior

Courtesy Photo | Team Kahuna members pay their respects to fellow team member Capt. Joy Gapuzan during a memorial service held June 4 in his honor at Contingency Operating Base Delta, Iraq. Gupuzan died while on leave during his third combat tour. Gapuzan was the team’s logistics officer for the past year. (U.S. Army Photo by Sgt. Matthew Hayes)  

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE DELTA, IRAQ

06.04.2010

Courtesy Story

1st Infantry Division

By Sgt. Matthew Hayes

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE DELTA, Iraq – Soldiers of Contingency Operating Base Delta filled the post theater, June 4, to pay their final respects to a fellow warrior.

Team “Kahuna,” a military transition team attached to the 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, paid their final respects to one of their own.

Capt. Joy A. Gapuzan, a native of Augusta, Ga., died, May 30, while on leave from his tour in Iraq. Gapuzan served with the team for the past year as the logistics officer. He was serving on his third combat tour in his 16 years of service. He also supported several peacekeeping missions.

Gapuzan, a former enlisted Soldier who went by the nickname Gap, embraced a diverse life. During his memorial service, friends said he was a man who knew enough about everything to get by and look good doing it. He was a motorcycle enthusiast, having built 12 motorcycles and owning three. He was truly a lover of life. He was a traveler, sky diver, artist, uncle, brother and friend, comrades said.

“Friends describe him as amazing, selfless, talented. I find it fitting to describe him simply by the name his parents so appropriately gave him at birth,” Lt. Col. Shaun E. Tooke, 1st Bn., 10th FA Regt. commander “By all accounts, Capt. Gapuzan found great joy in being a Soldier, a friend, an uncle, and doing the activities and hobbies he spent his free time performing. Likewise, he brought joy to those he associated with.”

Lt. Col. Allen Thiessen, Team ‘Kahuna’ team leader and native of Panama City, Fla., said, “Gap was not the loud outgoing type who needed to be the center of attention. He was the exact opposite. He let his actions and deeds speak for himself.”

• Date Taken: 06.04.2010
• Date Posted: 06.30.2010 03:10
• Story ID: 52168
• Location: CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE DELTA, IQ