The Official Government Press Center for Fort Hood, Texas
DATE: July 17, 2020 3:41:49 PM CDT
Brave Rifles mourn Spc Vanessa Guillen at military memorial ceremony
FORT HOOD, Texas — Several hundred people — family, friends and fellow Soldiers — attended the 3rd Cavalry Regiment unit memorial ceremony July 17 in honor of Spc. Vanessa Guillen inside the Spirit of Fort Hood Chapel at Fort Hood, Texas.
Lt. Col. Edward Gavin, commander Regimental Engineer Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, spoke at the unit memorial.
“This is difficult,” Gavin said. “This is difficult to discuss because the tragedy of her loss has forever changed our squadron and it has forever changed her family. We wrestle with feelings of anger, depression, anxiety, fear, frustration and sadness. And, we have so many questions, some of which may never be answered.”
(Click on the photos for the higher resolution versions.)
Memorial Gathering: Several hundred people — family, friends and fellow Soldiers — attended the unit memorial ceremony by the Regimental Engineer Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, in honor of Spc. Vanessa Guillen inside the Spirit of Fort Hood Chapel at Fort Hood, Texas, July 17. (U.S. Army photo by Brandy Cruz, Fort Hood Public Affairs)
Troop Commander: Capt. Samuel Obrist, Spc. Vanessa Guillen’s troop commander in the Regimental Engineer Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, addresses several hundred gathered in the Spirit of Fort Hood Chapel during a unit memorial in memory of Guillen at Fort Hood, Texas, July 17. (U.S. Army photo by Blair Dupre, Fort Hood Public Affairs)
General: Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt, III Corps and Fort Hood deputy commanding general, leaves a coin at the base of a Soldier’s Cross for fallen Soldier Spc. Vanessa Guillen at the conclusion of a unit memorial service in the Spirit of Fort Hood Chapel, Fort Hood, Texas, July 17.
(U.S. Army photo by Blair Dupre, Fort Hood Public Affairs)
Family: The family of Spc. Vanessa Guillen grieves in front of her Soldier’s Cross during her unit memorial ceremony at Fort Hood, Texas, July 17. Several hundred people — family, friends and fellow Soldiers — attended the ceremony in the post’s Spirit of Fort Hood Chapel.
(U.S. Army photo by Blair Dupre, Fort Hood Public Affairs)
Soldier’s Cross: Spc. Vanessa Guillen’s Soldier’s Cross — including helmet, rifle, identification tags and boots — was the centerpiece inside the Spirit of Fort Hood Chapel at Fort Hood, Texas, July 17. Several hundred people, including her family, gathered for the unit memorial for the fallen Soldier. (U.S. Army photo by Brandy Cruz, Fort Hood Public Affairs)
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