COLUMBIA — South Carolina lawmakers remembered the members of the armed forces from South Carolina who died last year while serving their country.
This year’s Fallen Soldiers Ceremony and Luncheon honored 10 young men and their families.
Each family was presented with a concurrent resolution from the state House and Senate honoring the fallen soldier, along with The Order of the Palmetto Patriot and a state flag that was flown in his honor over the Statehouse.
The soldiers honored were:
- Specialist Larry Curtis Applegate, Army, Surfside Beach
- Pfc. Jason Watson, Army, Ehrhardt
- Staff Sgt. Raphael Futrell, Army, Anderson
- Capt. Mark McDowell, Air Force, Tamassee
- Specialist Abraham Wheeler III, Army, Columbia
- Lance Cpl. Christopher Fowlkes, Marines, Gaffney
- Sgt. Demetrius Void, Army, Orangeburg
- Lance Cpl. Mills Palmer Bigham, Marines, Columbia
- Pfc. Robert E. Foster Jr., Army, Columbia
State Rep. Carl Anderson, D-Georgetown, knows exactly what the families are going through because his son, Carl Jr., was killed in Iraq in 2003.
“You’ve got something that nobody can take away from you,” he told the grieving family members. “You’ve got the memory of your loved one. You’ve got good memories of your loved one.”
Fowlkes was killed by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan that also killed two other members of his unit and injured seven others.
“Well, every day’s a healing process,” his father, Steve, said after the ceremony. “And just to know that he’s not forgotten—he’s definitely not forgotten by us—but to know that people are still remembering him, that feels good, too.”
In an emotional moment during the ceremony, Fowlkes’ youngest brother Dominick read a poem he wrote two weeks ago for his sixth-grade poetry class:
“The War”
It’s night
But there’s still so much light
Guns blazing
Rockets glazing
Some men so wild
While others very mild
Some are trying to get some kills
While others are covered with chills
Some grunts are wishing they were in the drone
And others wishing they were home
Then the sun rose
And the commander chose
“Retreat, retreat” the commander,
Said most staying
While others laying,
Down trying to blend in the forest like salamanders
Many died
But those who survived
Lived to fight another day
While the families of the fallen soldiers vowed to pray
GOD BLESS THE USA
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