In Memory: Three Good Men

The first of May was a difficult day for American forces deployed to the Ghaziabad district of Afghanistan back in 2009.  That day, anti-Afghanistan forces massed on a small outpost overlooking the village of Nishigam and forever took from us three tremendous American Soldiers in an early-morning attack.

The men, SSG William Vile, SGT James Pirtle and SPC Ryan King fought bravely and will forever be remembered by the men and women with whom they served so honorably.  Below are excerpts taken from the "Honor the Fallen" section from www.militarytimes.com.  I ask that you take a moment and join family, friends and those of us who were in Ghaziabad that day in the remembrance of our brothers in arms.  Rest in peace, men.

Army Staff Sgt. William D. Vile

Died May 01, 2009 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom 

27, of Philadelphia; assigned to the 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.; died of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using direct fire May 1 near the village of Nishagam, Konar province, Afghanistan. Also killed were Sgt. James D. Pirtle and Spc. Ryan C. King.

Staff Sgt. William D. Vile, 27, of Philadelphia, who was assigned to a military transition team in Afghanistan, died of wounds suffered in an attack May 1 when insurgents attacked his unit using direct fire and rocket-propelled grenades, officials said.The attack took place in the village of Nishagam, Konar province.

Vile was assigned to 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, from Fort Riley, Kan.

Soldiers and service members from other branches of the military are trained at Fort Riley in a 60-day course to advise, teach, mentor and coach their counterparts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

(below, from The Associated Press)

On his first tour in Iraq, William D. Vile was a gunner on a Humvee that was struck and turned over by a roadside bomb.

He told his fiancée, Heather Jackson, “I popped right back up,” but the Army thought his wound deserved a Purple Heart.

Then during his first tour in Afghanistan, he was watching as a helicopter landed with troops. As soon as it landed, the surrounding hills “lit up with enemy fire,” he told her.

He ran to get his flak vest out of his tent and took a bullet in the arm. He pretty much fought off the medics trying to attend to him.

“I need something to stop the bleeding,” he told them. “I have work to do here.”

Vile, 27, of Philadelphia died May 1 when insurgents attacked his unit in Konar province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Fort Riley, Kan., and was on his fourth tour of duty.

“I never met anybody who was so honest,” Jackson said. “He never put on a mask. He was never anyone but himself. Bill was larger than life.”

He enlisted in 1998 after graduating high school. He had two Purple Hearts for wounds in combat in both countries.

He also is survived by his mother, Donna.

(To View SSG Vile's full remembrance page, click here)

Army Spc. Ryan C. King

Died May 01, 2009 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom 
22, of Dallas, Ga.; assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

(below, from The Associated Press)

To Brittney Peters, it seems just like yesterday she and Ryan C. King and their friends were all hanging out and goofing off in the neighborhood.

“I bring myself to tears when I think of all the fun memories we had. I wish there could have been one last goodbye, there are so many things I would have said. Thank you for the memories that will make all of us remember you,” she wrote on an online bulletin board. “I never got the chance to tell you, I am so proud of you and what you have done.”

King, 22, of Dallas, Ga., died May 1 when insurgents attacked his unit in Konar province, Afghanistan. He was a 2005 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas.

A few months after graduation, he enlisted in the Army, something he had wanted to do since he was a child. He went to basic training at Fort Sill, Okla. After he completed his training, he was stationed in Korea for a year, where he met his wife, Sgt. Rachel King.

At a memorial, Spc. Gregory Landgraf read stories of King publishing a newspaper lampooning the soldiers in his unit and a time when King tied his arm behind his back and took on a sergeant during a combative match.

(To view SPC King's full remembrance page, click here)

Army Sgt. James D. Pirtle

Died May 01, 2009 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom 

21, of Colorado Springs, Colo.; assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

(below, from The Associated Press)

James D. Pirtle graduated from high school in 2006 and immediately enlisted in the Army, despite his mother’s fears.

“Coming from a military family, I was very proud of him, but my first response was, ‘Why can’t you wait until it’s peace time?’ ” Patricia Pirtle said.

She said he was very patriotic and an enthusiastic soldier who quickly worked his way up to sergeant. In Afghanistan, he often volunteered for missions that he knew would be dangerous.

Pirtle, 21, of Colorado Springs, Colo., died May 1 when insurgents attacked his unit in Konar province. He was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas.

He was known to have a smile on his face, was a constant joker and was also the butt of many jokes. Once, teachers and students duct-taped him to a tree because he said it couldn’t be done.

“It took two full rolls,” said teacher Jan Songer. “We left him out there for a while.”

He also is survived by his father, James.

“He just wanted to be part of something bigger than himself,” said Andrew Thurn, one of his best friends. “He was OK dying if he was serving his country.”

(To view SGT Pirtle's full remembrance page, click here)