03 May 2006 Bruce was my point man and friend. As his Platoon Leader I felt the loss of a great man and a friend. Today as I write this I feel that loss again as his friend. Our closeness came in many forms. I and others talked on the tapes sent home to his family. We joked and laughed like brothers and as he walked point on one file I did the other. We all shared packages and ups and downs. When we came in off a mission we hung together. I was on R&R when he was killed... so when I returned and heard... it was a sad day... part of the heart and smile of our small unit was gone. I don't think RECON was the same after that. His family asked the Army to have me escort him back to Alaska. I flew into Oakland, CA and got my class A uniform and then flew to Anchorage, Alaska. How do you tell the family? He was 20 years old. This man had so many friends and his life touched others in a way that he will never be forgotten. I talked with the family many times during that week and let them know of our life in RECON and the guys that shared time with him and thought he was the best. His skill at point came from his father who taught him to hunt and all the time he spent outdoors up in Alaska. He was a crack up... he always made us laugh and we to him did the same. Most of those days together were fun, yeah there was the bad stuff but mostly it was good days spent with men you liked... men you remembered... men you still feel in your heart are with you today. I will write again and tell you more of this great guy and if you are friends or family... We for a moment have all visited together and shared time with Bruce in a differant way... yet we think of him and smile and cry and always remember. Bud Gross P. O. Box 632, Mi-Wuk Village, CA 95346 gjgross@fs.fed.us

 

25 Sep 2007 Bruce came in-country and was assigned to Co B, 1st Bn, 28th Infantry, Mike platoon, 2nd sguad. He was assigned to my sguad ... what a great guy, we laughed during good times and struggled together in bad times. He loved to walk point, he was all gung ho. He would talk on my tapes home to North Carolina telling my family he was the Kodiak bear. He become bored with our operations and decided for the greater challenge of recon. I hated to lose him but there was no holding him back. I missed him then and I miss him now, what a great guy. We used to talk about Corvettes. I have several pictures of him I pull out often, and thank God I knew such a nice guy. He's probaby one of the reasons I made it back. From a fellow soldier, Ron Poovey ronpoo@charter.net

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