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TACP memorial honors Maj. David Gray

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Christopher Callaway
  • 1st Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
Two Humvees sit silently in the background as a crowd of Tactical Air Control Party members past and present find their seats. A flag flies at half-staff remembering the Airmen who had paid the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.

This was the setting for a memorial honoring Maj. David Gray June 6, 2013 at Hurlburt Field, Fla.

Gray's unit was conducting dismounted operations in the Kunar Province, Afghanistan, Aug. 8, 2012. As the patrol approached an Afghan compound, a suicide bomber ambushed the team.

Upon detonation, the brigade commander and his security team dove for cover. Toward the rear, Gray and two other military members immediately ran to the front to asses and respond to the situation. Then, a second suicide bomber attacked, killing the three.

"All of us will one day face serious adversity," said Col. Samuel Milam, 93rd Air Ground Operations Wing commander. "Many of us have already done so; it won't always be fair or just or deserved, but I hope that when it happens to you, me or your families, that we are all wise enough to remember this day, to remember what's behind those letters carved in stone, to remember the example David and Heather set for us all -- that my warrior friends is how it's done, that's how you finish strong."

Airmen placed a wreath next to the memorial in honor of all fallen TACP Airmen, followed by Gray's name being revealed on the memorial.

"He always had this infectious smile that motivated people and made them think they could do anything," said Heather Gray, Gray's widow. "If he said 'how are you' he was content to stand there for as long as you could talk and you would always walk away feeling motivated and just genuinely happy."

After the family viewed Gray's name on the memorial, the Hurlburt Field Honor Guard fired a three-gun salute and played taps to end the ceremony.

"I thought the memorial was beautifully done ... just wish that there was no need for a memorial," Heather said.