By 1st Lt. Tyler Mitchell
4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division
ISKANDARIYAH, Iraq – The Soldiers of the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment celebrated Cinco de Mayo, and the life of one of their fallen comrades, with a 4.2 mile run called "Run for the Border" around the Musayyib Power Plant at Forward Operating Base Iskan.
The May 5 Run for the Border race was dedicated to 1st Lt. Colby Umbrell from Company D. Umbrell was killed, May 3, outside of Musayyib, Iraq, by a roadside bomb.
Umbrell was a regular for the other runs and was a recent competitor in the Midnight Sun Marathon last June in Anchorage, Alaska. The other races the 1st Bn., 501st PIR hosted were the Turkey Trot, Jingle Bell Jog and the St. Patty's Day race.
"Colby trained relentlessly in preparation for the marathon last year, with an intensity that drew the humorous attention of his fellow officers in the battalion. If you saw Colby, you would know why the jokes were made," said Maj. Craig Whiteside, the executive officer for the Geronimos, about Umbrell's training for the Midnight Run. "He was built more for college football than long distance running. Nonetheless, he competed in the Anchorage marathon and finished strong with a respectable time."
Among 1st Bn., 501st PIR, Umbrell will be remembered for being a dedicated and passionate Philadelphia Eagles fan. "He always wore a fake 1920's football helmet with an Eagles logo on it regularly in our company tent," 1st Lt. Adam Wachob said of his friend.
Umbrell frequently sang the Eagles fight song without being asked. "Once, returning from a mission at about 3 a.m., we called up to our company on the radio. Colby was not on the mission, he was in the company tent watching an Eagles game, flapping his wings and singing, 'Fly Eagles, FLY,'" Wachob said while laughing.
Umbrell will also be known as one of the only paratroopers who cried during the FOB showing of the movie "Invincible," starring Mark Wahlberg. It's the story of Vince Papali, a walk-on receiver for the Eagles in the 1970s.
Umbrell took his job as a leader seriously. Whether you agreed with him or not, he was not afraid to state to his opinions.
"Colby never doubted the commitment to making Iraq a better place. I mean that," said Wachob. "There are lots of soldiers who would gladly leave here today and not give their time spent in Iraq a second thought.
"Colby genuinely wanted to make Iraq a safer place for the Iraqi people. He lived that out on a daily basis."
Professionally, Umbrell loved his paratroopers and he took care of them, according to fellow members of his unit.
"As serious as he was, he still had time for pranks. Throughout Comanche Company the prank war between Colby and his platoon sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class Merren, became legendary," said Capt. Donald Kingston, the Company C commander. "The war culminated with Colby replacing all of Merren's family pictures with pictures of David Hasellhoff in his Baywatch outfit. Merren retaliated by crazy gluing all of Colby's possessions to his desk, to include change in the drawer and his phone handset. Months later, Merren found a picture of David Hasselhoff in his b-bag and Colby could not use the phone for two months."
Held on a humid Iraqi day, the run tested the runners' determination. Taking the top spots were Umbrell's fellow lieutenants. The top spot went to 1st Lt. Rollie Holcomb, from Vermillion, S.D. He was followed closely by 1st Lt. Mike Kimmel from Olympia, Wash., and in third was Wachob from Jackson Hole, Wyo.