An Iraq War Army Veteran who was left unable to walk can now use an exoskeleton to move around without aid.

Richie Neider of Phoenix received a spinal cord injury from an IED explosion during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005, leaving him wheelchair-bound after scar tissue complications in 2013.

Now, using a ReWalk Personal 6.0 Exoskeleton, he can walk on his own for the first time in nearly 10 years.

"I'm now getting to go out to the real world with it other than just training and simulating it," Neider told AZFamily. "Now I'm the stand-up guy! After ten years of not walking, it's one of the most amazing feelings. You don't forget how to walk, your brain always tells you."

Developed by ReWalk Robotics, the exoskeleton works by detecting shifts in the user's center of gravity, using a forward lean to take the first step—with battery-power motors in the hip and knee joints moving the legs in a natural human gait.

Human exoskeletons have been in development for years to aid mobility for paralyzed people as well as increase strength and endurance for people with strenuous jobs and for military uses. In 2014, this ReWalk exoskeleton was approved for commercial use by the federal government.

"It can be used for someone who is completely paralyzed but can also be used by people who have some ability to walk but have difficulty," Dan Bonaroti, a physical therapist and owner of Touchstone Rehabilitation, told the MailOnline. "It's almost a bigger purpose for the second reason, that it expands people with stroke and incomplete spinal cord injury."

Nieder is the first Phoenix Veteran to take home a ReWalk through the Veterans Affairs program, which fully paid for the $75,000 exoskeleton. The Veterans are trained to use the ReWalk over the course of 28 sessions and then allowed to take it home for a brief rental period.

Not only does this device help people walk again, but the regaining of their independence can also be hugely beneficial to their mental health, per ReWalk. According to one study from 2008, 48.5 percent of people with a spinal cord injury suffered from mental health problems, with 37 percent experiencing depression.

"The biggest disability is not my inability to walk, but the way I was looking at things," said Neider. "It was the mental side of it. Once I figured that out, I was able to just start moving forward and realize I can do everything everybody else is doing. I just do it a little bit differently."

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Raymond T. Odierno, a retired Army general who commanded American and coalition forces in Iraq at the height of the war and capped a 39-year career by serving as the Army’s chief of staff, has died, his family said Saturday. He was 67.

“The general died after a brave battle with cancer; his death was not related to COVID,” a family statement said. “There are no other details to share at this time. His family is grateful for the concern and asks for privacy.”

Odierno died Friday; the family declined to say where. It said funeral and interment information was not yet available.

President Joe Biden lauded Odierno as a “hero of great integrity and honor.” In a joint statement, the president and First Lady Jill Biden recalled that Odierno spoke at the funeral of their son Beau, who served under Odierno in Iraq and died of brain cancer in 2015.

“Ray was a giant in military circles — dedicated first and always to the service members he commanded and served alongside,” the Bidens said, adding that Odierno and his wife Linda were advocates for military children and families.

“We stand with the Odierno family and all our brave service members who were shaped and molded by General Odierno over his lifetime of service,” they said.

At 6-foot-5, Odierno was an imposing figure. He played football as a cadet at West Point and retained a lifelong interest in the sport. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth wrote on Twitter Saturday evening that Odierno embodied the values of West Point and of the Army itself.

“A leader who was larger than life, we will remember him always for his selfless service to our nation and to our soldiers in and out of uniform,” she wrote.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who succeeded Odierno as the top overall commander in Iraq in 2010, called him a confidant, a friend and a powerful example.

“Ray was known for his loyalty — to mission and to his people,” Austin said in a statement. “He cared deeply about the troops who knew him as ‘General O,’ and he and Linda looked after the families of those troops as if they were their own.”

Odierno served three tours in Iraq. After his first, in 2003-04 as commander of the 4th Infantry Division, he was criticized by some for overly aggressive tactics that some believed fed an insurgency. At an early high water mark, in December 2003, his soldiers involved in the capture of Iraq’s deposed president, Saddam Hussein. That success gave hope to quashing an emerging insurgency, but in 2004 the insurgency gained greater momentum and led to the deadly rise of al-Qaida in Iraq.

Odierno returned to Iraq in 2006 and served for two years as commander of Multi-National Corps-Iraq. In 2008 he took over as the top overall American and coalition commander in Baghdad, leaving in 2010 as combat was winding down and as President Barack Obama was adding troops in Afghanistan.

A native of Rockaway, New Jersey, Odierno graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1976 with a commission in field artillery. He served in a wide range of Army and Defense Department roles with multiple tours abroad, including in Iraq, Germany, Albania and Kuwait. As a three-star general he was assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a job that made him the main military adviser to the secretary of state.

When Odierno retired in 2015, he was succeeded as Army chief of staff by Gen. Mark Milley, the current Joint Chiefs chairman. In a statement Saturday, Milley said Odierno’s legacy will “live on through the generations he led.”

At a ceremony marking his retirement from the Army in 2015, then-Defense Secretary Ashton Carter described him as a commander whose tenacity and operational savvy gave civilian leaders great confidence.

“His commanding presence calmed the confused, and his courage and compassion helped carry the burden of loss and sacrifice,” Carter said.

Three months ago, North Carolina State University announced that Odierno had joined its board of trustees. In 1986 he earned a Master of Science degree in nuclear effects engineering from North Carolina State. He was president of Odierno Associates, a consulting firm in Pinehurst, North Carolina.

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The cost of caring for Veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan could top $2.5 trillion by 2050, creating tough financial decisions for both the Veterans community and the entire country, according to a new analysis by the Costs of War Project released Wednesday.

“The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have created a Veterans care crisis, with disability rates soaring past those seen in previous wars,” said Harvard University professor Linda Bilmes, lead author of the new estimates.

“This will take a long-term toll not only on Veterans, but the U.S. taxpayers that will bear these costs for decades to come.”

The latest analysis of the costs of Veteran care in coming decades is roughly $1 trillion over previous estimates by the group. Researchers cited “more frequent and longer deployments, higher levels of exposure to combat, higher rates of survival from injuries, higher incidence of serious disability, and more complex medical treatments” as the reasons for the higher price tag.

The group also noted that the increased demands are already putting pressure on the federal budget.

In fiscal 2001, before large-scale U.S. deployments to Afghanistan, mandatory Veterans spending accounted for about 2.4 percent of annual federal spending. By fiscal 2020, that jumped to 4.9 percent, even as the number of Veterans in America dropped from about 25.3 million to 18.5 million.

“The majority of the costs associated with caring for post-9/11 Veterans has not yet been paid and will continue to accrue long into the future,” the report states.

“As in earlier U.S. wars, the costs of care and benefits for post-9/11 Veterans will not reach their peak until decades after the conflict, as Veterans’ needs increase with age. This time around, Veterans’ costs will be much steeper.”

About $900 billion of the estimated costs will be for direct medical care by Veterans Affairs physicians and contractors. All post-9/11 Veterans are entitled to five years of free medical care through VA, while individuals with significant service-connected injuries can qualify for lifetime care.

The group estimates another $1.4 trillion for disability benefits payouts. Researchers also estimated about $100 billion in additional spending for VA staff to keep up with the increased demands of Veterans care.

Past analyses by the group have estimated that about 3 million Veterans served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, either in direct combat deployments or support roles. The median age of the group now is just under 37 years old.

The new report comes as the United States completes its full withdrawal from Afghanistan ahead of the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks which prompted the start of the war on terror.

“As the U.S. tries to close this chapter in its military history, an entire generation of Veterans and families will not be able to do so,” the report states. “The cost of these wars in blood, toil and treasure will endure for the next half-century.”

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A U.S. soldier who sacrificed his life to save his comrades from their burning vehicle after it was struck by roadside bomb in Iraq is soon set to become the first Black servicemember to receive the U.S. government's most prestigious award for valor since the Vietnam War after a years-long battle for recognition, Newsweek has learned.

Two sources familiar with the process have confirmed to Newsweek that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who is the first Black Pentagon chief, has signed off on Army Sergeant 1st Class Alwyn C. Cashe receiving the Medal of Honor. A third source aware of the proceedings has confirmed that the White House is working to set a date for the award ceremony and that Cashe's family has been notified.

Cashe, 35, was serving with Company A, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division outside Samarra city in central Iraq on October 17, 2005, when his Bradley Fighting Vehicle ran over an improvised explosive device that tore through the BFV and ignited its fuel cell.

"Without regard for his personal safety," his posthumous Silver Star award citation reads, Cashe pulled the driver from the vehicle after having already suffered minor injuries, and then rushed back inside three times to extract six trapped soldiers and their Iraqi interpreter as his own fuel-soaked uniform caught fire.

Cashe suffered 2nd and 3rd-degree burns over some 72% of his body and ultimately succumbed to his injuries about three weeks later at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.

The translator and four soldiers ultimately died from their wounds as well, but the rest survived. Cashe was described as having "stayed a hero through it all."

"Sergeant First Class Cashe's heroic actions saved the lives of six of his beloved soldiers. He is truly deserving of this award," the citation reads. "His actions are in keeping with the finest traditions of military heroism and reflect distinct credit upon himself, Task Force LIBERTY and the United States Army."

While Cashe was swiftly awarded the Silver Star, the third-highest U.S. military decoration for valor in combat, his battalion commander, Brigadier General Gary Brito, later opted to upgrade the merit to the top Medal of Honor after he said he realized the extent of the fallen soldier's ordeal, after omitted details emerged about enemy fire and other factors that further clarified Cashe's already harrowing experience.

The campaign for this award has grown over the years to include influential allies seeking further recognition for Cashe. And all indications are that this will soon be a reality.

But the path toward Cashe's Medal of Honor has been an arduous one, spanning some three Pentagon chiefs over the course of just several months.

The first to formally back the nomination was then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who came out in support of the call in August after receiving a letter urging the move by Representatives Michael Waltz and Stephanie Murphy of Florida and Dan Crenshaw of Texas.

Protocol has it that the Medal of Honor must be awarded within five years of the heroic action, and Esper joined the chorus of voices urging a congressional waiver for Cashe.

President Trump ultimately removed Esper in November, initially stalling the momentum for Cashe's cause. But the following month, Trump signed the necessary legislature for waiving the constraints on Cashe receiving the award.

Esper's acting successor, Christopher Miller, also endorsed Cashe for the Medal of Honor, and, with restrictions lifted, increasing anticipation in early January that the ceremony would take place before Trump left office on the January 20.

The announcement never came, however, and national attention toward Washington was soon consumed by the set of mass pro-Trump demonstrations that stormed the Capitol on January 6, resulting in deadly clashes as protesters sought to disrupt the confirmation of President Joe Biden's victory by lawmakers.

With his Pentagon chief's approval for Cashe, it would be up to Biden to officiate the process. A fourth source with whom Newsweek spoke, a Veterans advocate aware of the process, confirmed that the White House was in the ceremony planning phase for Cashe's Medal of Honor.

The White House has yet to announce any date for the ceremony, but once it does, Waltz, one of the three members of Congress advocating for Cashe to receive the Medal of Honor, confirmed to Newsweek it would mark the final step in the process.

Waltz described the movement toward Cashe receiving the Medal of Honor as "fantastic."

"I think it's incredibly important to highlight these acts of heroism, and what fellow Americans are willing to do for each other," Waltz told Newsweek. "There's so much in our national discourse now about what divides us and this is something that should be unifying and should be inspiring."

Fellow Florida lawmaker Murphy, who has also championed for Cashe's, expressed excitement over the latest developments.

"I am overjoyed that Alwyn Cashe will receive the Medal of Honor," Murphy said in a statement sent to Newsweek. "I wish this amazing man were alive to receive it himself. I am so happy for his family and fellow soldiers, who fought for years to ensure that Alwyn received the recognition he earned, and it's finally happening. This nation is beyond grateful for Alwyn's service and ultimate sacrifice."

Members of Cashe's family did not immediately respond to Newsweek's request for comment.

Cashe's Medal of Honor citation would mark the first for a Black soldier for heroism in action since the Vietnam War in the 1960s and 1970s.

In 2014, former President Barack Obama bestowed the Medal of Honor upon retired Black Special Forces soldier Sergeant 1st Class Melvin Morris along with 23 other mostly Latino and Jewish servicemembers for their service in Vietnam as part of a congressionally mandated effort to correct citations overlooked due to historic discrimination.

Morris had previously received the Distinguished Service Cross, the second-highest award for combat valor.

The latest developments in Cashe's case came as Biden puts Iraq-related affairs at the forefront of his agenda.

On Friday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken will host his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussain for the fourth meeting of the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Dialogue and Biden himself will meet with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, part of the dynamic forged between Washington and Baghdad since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled longtime leader Saddam Hussein.

The invasion and the war that followed have elicited deep controversy over the years, but Cashe's own actions have been met with unanimous acclaim by those who've discussed his service in Iraq. In addition to his Silver Star, Cashe has been honored in other ways.

In July 2014, an Army Reserve center in Cashe's hometown of Sanford, Florida was renamed for him, as was the U.S. post office in Oviedo, where he grew up, in May 2019. In May of this year, the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division, with which Cashe served, announced it would rename its Marne Garden ceremony area in Fort Stewart, Georgia to Cashe Garden.

"For the many of us who knew and served with Sgt. 1st Class Cashe, we know he wouldn't want any of this. He didn't need anything named for him," Command Sergeant Major Quentin Fenderson, said at the time. "He believed the only acknowledgement he needed was that his boys were safe."

This Friday will mark the anniversary of Cashe's son, Andrew Cashe, graduating from the U.S. Army's One Station Unit Training for Infantry at Fort Benning, also in Georgia.

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Charise Taylor recounted, 'If I have to pull this trigger, that's what I have to do'

A Louisiana mom and Air Force Veteran pulled a gun on a man who tried to get into her car while she was sitting in gridlocked traffic with her 2-year-old son.

"You shouldn't have to navigate your own city like a war zone. It's un-American," Charise Taylor, who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, told WDSU. "The crime is out of control and it's terrifying. At this point, having to use the same tactics in an American city that you use in Iraq and Afghanistan simply to navigate through the city, it's scary, and I'm not the only mom feeling this way."

Taylor said she was on her way to pick up her husband on Friday in New Orleans when she got stuck in traffic on Interstate 10. While navigating the backup, a group of people in a truck motioned to her to let them into her lane. She let them in, but soon after a man came up to her passenger door and began pulling on the handle.

"So, as he comes up he's close, and he's pretty aggressive trying to get the car door open, makes eye contact with me, he's still trying to get it open a couple times," Taylor said.

She picked up her gun and recalled warning him: "It’s locked and loaded."

The suspect ran off and she was not forced to fire her weapon - though she said she was ready to do so in order to protect her son.

"The emotions honestly your body takes in a different form. I stayed in my body of course, but everything transformed. I'm trained to do this. I've gone to classes. I'm prior military. If I have to pull this trigger, that's what I have to do," Taylor said.

She filed a police report but said she was left troubled that the incident was only classified as a "disturbance," according to WDSU.

The New Orleans Police Department is investigating the incident.

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Suspect Austin William Lanz was out on bond after 'terrorist threats'

The Pentagon police officer who was killed after an assailant stabbed him in the neck at a metro hub outside the Department of Defense headquarters was identified Wednesday as George Gonzalez, a native New Yorker who previously served in Iraq.

Gonzalez joined the Pentagon Force Protection Agency as a police officer on July 22, 2018. A military and police Veteran, he had served previously with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Transportation Security Administration and U.S. Army.

He was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for his service in Iraq. A native of Brooklyn, New York, he was a die-hard Yankees fan, the Pentagon Protection Agency said in a statement. He was a graduate of New York City’s Canarsie High School.

"As a Pentagon Police officer, he took our mission of ‘protecting those who protect our nation’ to heart," the agency said. "He was promoted twice and attained the rank of Senior Officer in 2020. A gregarious officer, he was well-liked and respected by his fellow officers."

"Officer Gonzalez embodied our values of integrity and service to others," the statement continued. "As we mourn the loss of Officer Gonzalez, our commitment to serve and protect is stronger. Officer Gonzalez’s family is in our thoughts and prayers. May he rest in peace."

The metro hub outside the Pentagon remained closed early Wednesday, as many questions still surround a burst of violence that happened there a day earlier that left the officer dead after being stabbed in the neck and a suspect killed by ensuing gunfire from responding law enforcement.

More than 100 officers lined up outside the emergency room at George Washington University Hospital Tuesday, before members of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, U.S. Park Police and Pentagon Protection Agency were ordered to stand at attention around 1:30 p.m. to salute a black transport van as it rolled slowing out of the parking lot, Fox 5 DC reported. A police motorcade followed to pay tribute to the fallen officer.

The FBI is leading the investigation. Authorities have not formally identified the suspect who allegedly stabbed the officer in the neck in an ambush style attack on a bus platform shortly after 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. But the Associated Press identified the assailant as Austin William Lanz, 27, of Georgia.

"Gunfire was exchanged" on the platform, resulting in "several casualties," Woodrow Kusse, the chief of the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, which is responsible for security in the facility, said Tuesday. Responding officers then shot and killed Lanz. No potential motive has been announced.

Fox 5 DC reported that two bystanders may also have been injured by gunfire. Speaking at the only public address since the incident so far, Kusse also said Tuesday afternoon that the Pentagon complex was secure and "we are not actively looking for another suspect at this time."

Lanz was arrested in April in Cobb County, Georgia, on criminal trespassing and burglary charges, the Associated Press reported, citing online court records. The same day, a separate criminal case was filed against Lanz with six additional charges, including two counts of aggravated battery on police, a count of making a terrorist threat and a charge for rioting in a penal institution, the records show.

A judge reduced his bond in May to $30,000 and released him, imposing some conditions, including that he not ingest illegal drugs and that he undergo a mental health evaluation. The charges against him were still listed as pending. A spokesman for the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Lanz had been previously held at the agency’s detention center but referred all other questions to the FBI’s field office in Washington.

Lanz had enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in October 2012 but was "administratively separated" less than a month later and never earned the title Marine, the Corps said in a statement.

The Pentagon Force Protection Agency issued a statement later Tuesday confirming the loss of the still unidentified officer, and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin offered condolences and said flags at the Pentagon will be flown at half-staff.

"This fallen officer died in the line of duty, helping protect the tens of thousands of people who work in — and who visit — the Pentagon on a daily basis," Austin said in a statement. "This tragic death today is a stark reminder of the dangers they face and the sacrifices they make. We are forever grateful for that service and the courage with which it is rendered."

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U.S. Army Sgt. Hasan Akbar attacked the U.S. military in March 2003, killing Army Capt. Christopher Seifert and Air Force Maj. Gregory Stone and severely wounding 14 others

An Iraq War Veteran is pushing the military to honor the 16 casualties in U.S. Army Sgt. Hasan Akbar's 2003 ambush on the 101st Airborne Division with the Purple Heart.

Akbar, who is on death row in a military prison, cut the generators that lit Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait and tossed grenades into several tents on March 23, 2003, three days after the War in Iraq began.

Army Capt. Christopher Seifert, 27, was fatally shot in the back and Air Force Maj. Gregory Stone, 40, died from 83 shrapnel wounds.

At least 14 others were severely wounded, and many couldn't return to the war.

Retired Army Command Sgt. Maj. Bart Womack and Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska) have been the driving forces behind the effort.

Womack recalled the attack in vivid detail during an interview with Fox News Digital.

Womack said he continues to "live it every day" and has been pushing the military to award the Purple Heart to Seifert, Stone and the 14 others who were wounded.

The Purple Heart is one of the most recognized and respected U.S. military medals that is awarded to those who were wounded or killed as a result of enemy action.

Womack's efforts have been supported by Rep. Bacon, a retired Air Force Veteran, who wrote letters to the Army and Air Force.

But both branches of the military responded in separate Jan. 9 letters that said the 16 casualties weren't eligible for the honor because of a technicality.

"There was no evidence that the attack was inspired by a foreign terrorist organization or the Sgt. Akbar was in communication with any such entity," the Army wrote in its letter, which was shared with Fox News Digital.

"As a result of these findings, the Army cannot award the Purple Heart to service members who were killed or wounded during this tragic incident."

The Air Force's letter was nearly identical.

Both military branches left the door open, saying "If new evidence comes to light that demonstrates Sgt. Akbar was in communication with a foreign terrorist organization before the attack and was inspired or motivated by the organization, all due consideration will be made."

"It's bulls--t," Bacon said. "These Veterans were victims of an Islamic extremist who were killed and injured protecting America … I hope the Army and Air Force reconsider."

Womack penned a response letter to the military's Jan. 9 letters that she shared with Fox News Digital.

"The United States military, and America, has failed to recognize this attack as an act of terror, thereby making those killed and wounded ineligible for the Purple Heart Medal," Womack wrote.

Officials at the Pentagon didn't respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

PRECEDENT FOR CHANGE

The Purple Heart's eligibility criteria were slightly amended in February 2015 to accommodate Army Maj. Nidal Hassan's attack on Fort Hood in 2009, which claimed the lives of 13 people and wounded more than 30 others.

Congress expanded the eligibility by redefining what should be considered an attack by a "foreign terrorist organization" for purposes of determining eligibility for the Purple Heart.

"The legislation states that an event should now be considered an attack by a foreign terrorist organization if the perpetrator of the attack ‘was in communication with the foreign terrorist organization before the attack’ and ‘the attack was inspired or motivated by the foreign terrorist organization,'" the Department of Defense said in a press release.

In 2016, the victims and their families were honored with the Purple Heart.

But it took seven years and a bi-partisan effort among lawmakers to push for change and honor the victims.

Womack argued in his letter that service members have been awarded the Purple Heart under the precedence of Jihadi Ideology since the criteria was changed in 2015.

He used the example of the Airman who was stabbed in the face and neck while taking down a heavily armed gunman on a train to Paris on Aug. 21, 2015, as well as the service members who were killed and wounded in a shooting by a Saudi Military Officer at Naval Air Station Pensacola on Dec. 6, 2019.

"I require your advocacy and collaboration to have the March 23, 2003, attack recognized as a terrorist attack under the precedence of Jihadi Ideology," Womack wrote in his letter to the military.

"Also, to have the military revise their regulations to award the Purple Heart Medal for Jihadi Ideology, Jihadi Radicalized and American Jihadist inspired or motivated attacks."

Womack said, "These precedences were included in the inquiry filed by Congressman Bacon, and were completely ignored and not addressed by the military in their response."

The retired Army officer said he isn't backing down and will continue to fight for those killed and wounded on March 23, 2003.

"We're just getting started," Womack said.

Meanwhile, Akbar was found guilty of murder and premeditated murder and sentenced to death by lethal injection.

He is one of four former soldiers on death row at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, according to the Death Penalty Information Center, a Washington, D.C.,-based organization that provides "analysis and information on issues concerning capital punishment."

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Lucca, the German Shephard, is gone but not forgotten.

A war dog named Lucca, who served in more than 400 missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, has been given a full military burial in Michigan over the weekend.

Her longtime handler, retired Marine Master Sergeant Chris Willingham, carried the dog's ashes behind the canine honor guard during the ceremony for the 14-year-old German Shepherd.

“Lucca saved my life on multiple occasions,” Sgnt. Willingham told Inside Edition.

In 2016, Lucca was awarded the Dickin Medal, which is the highest honor a military service animal can get. Lucca was the first working dog in the military to receive it.

On her last patrol in Afghanistan, an explosive device went off and Lucca's left leg had to be amputated. She was then sent to rehabilitation.

“She came running up to me and jumped on me and started licking my face and that's when you know you're in Lucca's good graces,” Willingham recalled of their reunion after the rehabilitation.

Old age finally took Lucca, and while her heroic life came to an end, she was celebrated at the Michigan War Dog Memorial, where hundreds of Americans came to pay their respects and fellow dogs of war walked in formation to honor their comrade.

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