SPENCER THE 2ND
Those of us in this Association of veterans in our unit are at an age when it becomes more difficult to avoid the cynicism of the times (as frequently expressed in our news media) and still remain optimistic about the vagaries of life. Then too, we lose friends and family; friends and family become ill; and disappointments – many of them great - must be weathered. The business of life can indeed be taxing. But occasionally, you run across a small vignette – a small slice of life – something that goes against the grain - that has a certain quiet power and dignity to it. It’s the kind of thing that can reinforce your faith in the human race or which has the transcendent ability to affirm life when such an affirmation is most needed. I recently had such a moment, and I thought that you might feel the same way.
I’ve written here of my admiration for the men of E51 LRS. I’ve come to know a number of them, albeit only through emails, and through some of the stories they are living. They are doing in the Global War on Terrorism much the same thing that we did in a different corner of the world, in a different war, and at a different time. The long and the short of it is that we have much in common with these men some 35-40 years removed.
I’ve also written about Spc. Spencer Timothy Karol of E51 and the E51 LRS Team 2-1 mission on which Spc. Karol lost his life in Iraq. It’s been a year and a half since I first came across his name, when I received a couple of emails from Spc. Karol’s comrades from E-51 in Iraq shortly after his death. Over the ensuing year and a half, I feel like I’ve come to know Spc. Karol and the other men of E51in a way, from the manner in which his loss was handled and absorbed by his teammates and family, and the dedication of his comrades and teammates to ensure that Spc. Karol was properly memorialized. And then there was that picture of him that graced the cover of “Patrolling” a few months back. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a photo of a man prouder to be wearing the uniform than Spencer Karol in that photo. Seeing him as a living breathing person drew me further into his story, as did the failed efforts to secure a Memorial Stone for him at the US Army Ranger Memorial in Fort Benning.
Karol’s team leader – Ssg. Dominik Kepa - performed admirably and with great courage the day that Karol lost his life, rallying the wounded of the team, collecting Karol’s remains, and leading the team, virtually weaponless, back to their base without the transportation that brought them to the field in the first place. (If the events of that mission are unfamiliar to you, you can review them in the winter 2004 issue of Patrolling magazine under the G Company heading.) Ssg. Kepa was unable to travel with Spencer Karol’s remains back to Woodruff, Arizona to present them to Karol’s mom – that duty fell to Captain Kelly, E51’s XO and Sfc. Todd Galliand, Team 2-1’s former team leader. But, Ssg. Kepa has stayed in touch with Karol’s mom - Mrs. Bridget Madison. A couple of weeks following Spencer Karol’s death, Ssg. Kepa received a 14-day leave. In addition to spending some time with his wife Monica, Ssg. Kepa was drawn to Woodruff to see Mrs. Madison and to share with her, some of the events of Spencer’s life with the unit and how he died.
And nine months after Ssg. Kepa’s brief leave, Dominik and Monica found themselves, on July 8, 2004, the proud parents of a baby boy. And because of Dominick’s friendship with Spencer, and because of the bonds they had forged in Iraq, the newborn was named after Spencer, i.e., Spencer Timothy Kepa. And, to complete this circle of life, Dominik and Monica asked Mrs. Madison – Spencer Karol’s mom - to be the young Spencer’s godmother.
Mrs. Bridget Madison - the mother of Spencer Karol - with Spencer
The baptism took place on April 3, 2005 at the JFK Memorial chapel at Fort Bragg. Young Spencer’s uncle – Lucas Oracz – was godfather, but I believe that Spencer has a company full of “godfathers” in Germany where E51 is currently stationed.
Monica, Spencer Timothy and Dominik Kepa
One thing I don’t want to do here is, by omission, somehow forget that the war in Iraq continues and that E51 will be in the thick of it, or in any way forget the hundreds of other soldiers, sailors and Marines who have given their lives in this cause. Nor do I want to suggest that this small event in the overall panoply of life, while nonetheless important, somehow rationalizes the magnitude of the loss of our best and brightest in Iraq. It does however remind us that there are hundreds, or thousands, of stories of courage and valor like Spencer Karol’s and Dominik Kepa’s emanating from Iraq and Afghanistan, in which people try to pick up the frayed strands of their lives and move forward with them, and that life goes on.
Tom Nash
