When we were just kids, Freddy used to visit us in our back boys cabin at Tanuga, sneaking in at night and causing a good scare. We looked up to him not just as a soldier, but as a friend and warrior. We had been engrained with the beliefs of spirit in each other and the woods and animals, and Freddy shared that spirit of something greater in Tanuga. Putting on face paint and feathers, making a grand entrance to bonfires, and entrancing children at sunset on the lake was so rewarding to Freddy, he said he enjoyed it more than being a soldier. I looked up to him also, and his spirit rubbed off on me. He would talk about his life in the military, and offered words of advice about the joys of being a warrior. Im sure Im not the only one who took to heart what he said by words and deeds. He walked with us one day to the town of Fredrick some 25 miles away as we were road marching with backpacks. He told me that he thought I should join the Army, as I would find what I was looking for in life like he had. I eventually got around to joining the Army, but not until after he was already gone. My only regret is that I had not joined sooner to have been able to serve along side him. We all looked up to him, as I am sure his comrades in the Army did as well. 15 years later, I still meet soldiers in the Army who served along side Freddy, and their memories of him are just as fond as those of ours from Tanuga. I am certain his spirit is still looking down on all that he loved, smiling and laughing at the children in Tanuga and his fellow warriors still walking on this earth. He will never be forgotten.
Posted by: SFC Joshua P. Morton May 27, 2008
