Ceremony honors six soldiers killed in Afghanistan

FORT DRUM — Late afternoon sunlight cast a golden glow over the base's Memorial Garden on Thursday as family, friends and fellow soldiers gathered to pay tribute to six young men with the 10th Mountain Division who died in August of injuries they suffered while deployed in Afghanistan.

Their commanding officers offered brief but intimate and sometimes funny portraits of the soldiers they knew: Sgt. Jerry R. Evans, Jr., 23, Eufaula, Ala.; Spc. Justin R. Pellerin, 21, Boscawen, N.H.; Sgt. Darby T. Morin, 25, Victoria, British Columbia; Pfc. Brian M. Wolverton, 21, Oak Park, Calif.; Cpl. Matthew K. S. Swanson, 20, Lake Forest, Calif. and Spc. Abraham S. Wheeler III, 22, Columbia, S.C.

A crowd of several hundred people faced the garden and six poster-sized portraits showing each of the fallen soldiers in uniform before an American flag.

Sgt. Andrew Holmes described Spc. Justin Pellerin as "a quiet private" who with time became "an outspoken and funny specialist," with a sense of humor that could brighten tough situations.

Pfc. Brian Wolverton was always smiling, said Sgt. Joel Anderson, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment. His fellow soldiers called him Wolverine.

"I don't know if it was short for Wolverton," Sgt. Anderson said, "or just because he had a lot of strength in him."

Sgt. Jason Rozell said he knew Sgt. Darby Morin only a short time before he deployed, but he quickly gave an impression of "one of the hardest working people I knew." Sgt. Rozell recalled seeing him use lunch breaks at the company to spend time with his children.

Staff Sgt. John Brock read comments about Cpl. Matthew Swanson from three soldiers who served with him in Afghanistan, where they remain deployed.

"You will be remembered for your funny impressions, jokes and the stories you told," Sgt. John Brock read.

Spc. Alexander Luciano recalled how Spc. Abraham Wheeler hated running, but would nonetheless "run up and down the basketball court for two hours," working at it.

"He could make you laugh just by telling you the truth," Spc. Luciano said.

Sgt. Christopher Jones spoke of Sgt. Jerry Evans as a fellow southerner he could relate to easily. The two shared a love of Garth Brooks songs and fixing Humvees — because, he said, of the "southern-boys-know-vehicles stereotype." But only Sgt. Evans could sing.

When they missed home, Sgt. Jones said, "We would call everybody, including each other's mothers, at the most ridiculous hours."

"He would say he could fix anyone else's problems but his own, even though we all knew he lived a rich life, with the love of a family, the respect of his brothers — and now a child to aspire to be a man as great as he is."

Sgt. Evans, Sgt. Wheeler and Sgt. Pellerin were killed when improvised explosive devices exploded near their vehicles. Sgt. Evans and Sgt. Pellerin died Aug. 7 and Aug. 20 respectively in Wardak province, Afghanistan. Sgt. Wheeler was killed Aug. 28 in Logar province.

Cpl. Swanson and Sgt. Morin died of injuries suffered during vehicle rollovers. Cpl. Swanson died Aug. 8 at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., of injuries from the July 19 incident in Logar province. Sgt. Morin died Aug. 22 in Logar province.

Pfc. Wolverton was killed Aug. 20 by indirect fire in Kunar province.

Following the officers' remarks Thursday, Maj. Gen. James L. Terry, commander of Fort Drum and the 10th Mountain Division, thanked the soldiers' family members for their sacrifices. A trumpeter played "Taps" in the distance.

Family members were then asked to approach the portraits to pay final tributes to the men. The crowd was still for a moment, then dispersed.