Remembering Fallujah's fallen!

CAMP TAJI, Iraq -- Acts of gallantry and heroism abound in the recent assault to retake the restive insurgent stronghold of Fallujah. For the Soldiers of Task Force 2-7 Cavalry, sacrifices were made daily to bring freedom to a people who’ve known only strife. For some Soldiers, the ultimate sacrifice was made in this land far from home.Soldiers of Task Force 2-7 Cavalry paid their final respects to two of their fallen comrades killed in the Battle of Fallujah during a ceremony on Camp Taji, Nov. 27.Sgt. Jonathan B. Shields, 25, called Atlanta, home. All his life, he wanted to be a Soldier, specifically a tanker. His dream came true when he was assigned to 3 Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, after completion of his training.“He was the master of all that he did, whether working as a loader, driver, staff Soldier or gunner, you knew when you gave Sgt. Shields a task, no matter what it was, it would be done,” said Lt. Col. James Mingo, commander of 3-8 Cavalry. “It was a matter of pride. Quite simply, he was a tanker’s tanker.”Shields spent his entire military career within the tanking community of 3-8 Cav, serving time with each of the battalion’s companies. He was assigned to Company C when he and his crew were notified they would be going to Fallujah in support of operations there. “When Sgt. Shields found out we were going to Fallujah as part of Task Force 2-7 Cavalry, he was excited,” said Mingo. “Here is what he had trained for, here is what he had wanted to do all his life.”As Shields and his company rolled into the streets of Fallujah on Nov.12, they immediately came under heavy attack. The lead tank was struck by a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) injuring the tank’s commander and driver, halting movement. Wasting no time, Shields and his crew worked to evacuate the wounded and to get the tank off the battle field. “His platoon was still out there, heavily engaged and as he brought the wounded back in,” Mingo said. “Sgt. Shields wasted no time returning to the sounds of the guns.”Moving his tank to the limits of its abilities, Shields was desperately working to rejoin his team when his tank struck an embankment launching the it to its side, fatally wounding Shields.“The positive influence and memory of Sgt. Shields will forever remain with this company,” Mingo said. “He will not be forgotten.”Twenty-three-year-old Lubbock, Texas native, Spc. Jose A. Velez, was killed by a sniper as he stood over his wounded comrades, refusing to give the enemy ground.“Spc. Velez was an essential part of the spirit of Apache Company,” said Capt. Edward Twaddell, commander of Company A, 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, as he stopped for a minute to regain control of the fire of emotions burning across his face. “Not a day went by when someone didn’t give him a gentle ribbing about the amount of food on his plate or how good of a pillow he was to lay against in the back of a Brad (Bradley Fighting Vehicle).” Twaddell recalled.The nature of street-to-street, house-to-house urban combat allowed for a well-trained single sniper to halt the advance of a squad of America’s finest. As Velez and his squad worked their way up the streets, they came upon one of the many houses, with a typical Arab courtyard. There was nothing remarkable about the house until the report of a sniper rifle rang out and a Soldier went down.“Standing completely exposed, Velez stood in an alley laying down suppressive fire as the troopers of his squad worked to dislodge the sniper from the building,” Twaddell choked.When the smoke had cleared and the engagement was over, five Soldiers lay wounded, and Velez fatally shot while defending the lives of his brothers.“Because of the actions of Spc. Velez, five men survived. We must not think of the guilt of why some of us made it and others didn’t. We must always carry with us the memory of Soldiers like Spc. Velez, and most importantly, we must carry on,” Twaddell concluded.Approaching the podium in the standing-room-only dining facility, Lt. Col. James Rainey, commander of 2-7 Cavalry, thanked the division’s commanding general, Maj. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, and other distinguished guest for their attendance.“We’re here today to pay tribute to two great Soldiers; to two great Americans,” Rainey said. “I am 100 percent convinced we will win this war because we have Soldiers like Sgt. Shields and Spc. Velez, and the enemy does not. The enemy has no response for sergeants that risk everything to rescue their injured comrades only to immediately return to the fight. The enemy has no answer to Soldiers standing over their injured buddies, even when it means their own lives, so that others will live. Because of that, we will win.”Release #041208c