Soldiers Remembered During Ft. Carson Memorial Service
A memorial service was held Thursday morning in honor of two fallen soldiers and one fallen airman.
Army Command Sgt. Maj. Kevin J. Griffin, 45, served with the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. He was a husband and father of two.
“He was a family man, he loved his family, to include his military family,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Jody Heikkinen, who said he was a close friend of Griffin.
Heikkinen said Griffin was a patriotic and humble man who frequently used Facebook to keep up with his kids.
“Well, prior to this event, I didn’t even know I had emotions until I found out on the 8th of August what happened to Command Sgt. Maj. Griffin,”
Griffin is the highest-ranking enlisted Fort Carson soldier to be lost to the war.
Army Maj. Thomas E. Kennedy, 35, also served with the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.
According to Maj. Timothy Knoth, Kennedy was a loving husband and a father of 2-year-old twins.
“The thing I’ll miss most about Tom is just his infectious grin and his loving approach. His ability to bring the human heart into the military. Most of us walk around here in uniform and have lots of important things to do, but he never missed a chance to put his arm around you, squeeze the back of your neck or give you a big smile when you needed to get through the day,” said Knoth.
Air Force Maj. W. David Gray, 38, was serving with the 13th Air Support Operations Squadron, 93rd Air Ground Operations Wing at Fort Carson.
He is described as a hard-working airman, and was fondly referred to as a “PT Ninja,” in reference to his intense workout regimen, or physical training.
“Although it’s a sad loss, we all look out and see in the eyes of those young guys that [were in his] flight, and you can see a little bit of him there, knowing that he was a crucial part of their training,” said Lt. Col. Thomas Moore.
Moore said, “It’s through the efforts of Maj. Gray, Command Sgt. Maj. Griffin and Maj. Kennedy that gives us the ability to strive on every day. They’re inspirational in just about any way you can imagine.”
The men were killed while deployed in the Kunar Province on Aug. 8 after an insurgent detonated a suicide vest. According to reports, one civilian was also killed in the attack.
