Cypress soldier killed in Afghanistan honored ...

FORT CARSON, Colo. — Fort Carson, Colo., gave a final salute on Thursday to 14 soldiers killed in a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan including one from Cypress.

About 500 members of the 1st Brigade Combat Team, part of the 4th Infantry Division, and about three dozen friends and relatives attended the ceremony at the post.

The brigade's commander, Col. Jeffrey Martindale, and command Sgt. Maj. Gerald Kinloch placed a wreath before photos of the 14 soldiers.

"I am truly sorry that I could not bring all of this brigade home," Martindale told the mourners.

Later, a comrade of each of the 14 walked slowly to the wreath, paused, and gave a slow, graceful salute before walking away as a bagpiper played "Going Home." Spc. Joshuwa Clare was picked to salute his former boss, Chaplain Dale A. Goetz Jr., a 43-year-old captain from White, S.D.

"Rendering that final salute is an honor and brings a little bit of peace, but there's still some pain," Clare said after the service.

Goetz is believed to be the first chaplain killed in the line of duty since the Vietnam War. He and four others were killed on Aug. 30, 2010, when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle.

Other members of the 1st Brigade killed alongside Goetz were Staff Sgt. Jesse Infante, 30, Cypress, Texas; Staff Sgt. Kevin James Kessler, 32, Canton, Ohio; and Pfc. Chad D. Clements, 26, Huntington, Ind.

The fifth person killed that day was Staff Sgt. Matthew J. West, 36, Conover, Wis. He was a member of Fort Carson's 71st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group, which is not part of the 1st Brigade.

The other 1st Brigade soldiers honored Thursday: 1st Lt. Mark A. Noziska, 24, Papillion, Neb.; Staff Sgt. Casey J. Grochowiak, 34, Lompoc, Calif.; Staff Sgt. Carlos A. Benitez, 24, Carrollton, Texas; Spc. Rafael Martinez Jr., 36, Spring Valley, Calif.; Pfc. Tramaine J. Billingsley, 20, Portsmouth, Va.; Sgt. Robert C. Sisson Jr., 29, Aliquippa, Pa.; Sgt. Ken K. Hermogino, 30, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.; Spc. Timothy L. Johnson, 24, Randolph, N.Y.; Spc. Pedro A. Millet Meletiche, 20, Elizabeth, N.J.; and Pfc. Eric Soufrine, 20, Woodbridge, Conn.

Fort Carson officials said 325 soldiers from the post have been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq.