Fallen Guardsmen honored at building dedication
by Staff Sgt. Whitney Hughes CJTF-101
BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Steven Deluzio and U.S. Army Sgt. Tristan Southworth, both infantryman with Company A, 3rd Battalion 172nd Infantry Regiment, 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, will be remembered by future troop rotations on Bagram Airfield thanks to new buildings dedicated in their names, Nov. 23.
Two long, yellow barracks that will house future rotations of Soldiers on Bagram Airfield had their names changed to Deluzio and Southworth Halls, in honor of the Vermont Army National Guard Soldiers.
Deluzio, 25, a Glastonbury, Conn., native, and Southworth, 21, a Walden, Vt., native, died of wounds sustained during combat operations in Paktya Province Aug. 25.
At a dedication ceremony attended by Soldiers of A Company, 3rd Bn. and 86th IBCT leadership, Deluzio and Southworth were remembered for their loyalty and commitment to the mission in Afghanistan.
“We will take the memories of Staff Sgt. Deluzio and Sgt. Southworth with us for the rest of our lives because they were both such incredible individuals,” said U.S. Army 1st Lt. Micah Kidney, the A Company, executive officer from Enosburg Falls, Vt. “It is very nice to know that part of them, and their memory, will be left here as well because this is the country where they gave the ultimate sacrifice.”
Once they arrive, plaques engraved with the image of the two soldiers will be mounted on the buildings. In the meantime, pictures of the designs were unveiled during the ceremony to show what they will look like once they are complete.
“It means everything to (the Company A soldiers) that their fallen brothers are not forgotten, and their sacrifices were not made in vain,” said U.S Army Lt. Col. Robert Charlesworth, the 3rd Battalion commander from Jericho, Vt.
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