Remembering the fallen together

Comfort Dogs, HMC team partner to grieve with soldiers, families over
six service members who died while serving in Kuwait

In March, six U.S. Army Reserve soldiers of the 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command were killed in action during a drone strike at the Port of Shuaiba in Kuwait. The Des Moines, Iowa, unit returned from deployment and, this month, had the opportunity to grieve their fallen service members at a Yellow Ribbon Reintegration Program event in Dallas, TX.

Nearly 150 National Guard and Reserve Service members — plus many families — came to mourn, and five LCC K-9 Comfort Dog teams from Texas and Oklahoma and one Hearts of Mercy & Compassion team joined together to meet, talk, pray, and sometimes just be silent with them during a period of somber reflection and honor.

The HMC team from Christ the Redeemer in Tulsa, OK, erected six purple HMCs for attendees to sign, and they quickly filled with messages of respect, admiration, and grief.​

Right beside them were Kare 9 Military Ministry Dog Joy (Gloria Dei – Houston, TX), Kare 9 Military Ministry Dog Pax (St. Paul – Fort Worth, TX), Persis Comfort Dog (Christ The Redeemer – Tulsa, OK), Olive Comfort Dog (St. Paul – Fort Worth, TX), and Triton Comfort Dog (Messiah – Plano, TX).

As the Army soldiers and families came through, one group at a time, stories flowed about the people who passed.

- One gentleman was affectionately referred to as “Mr. Mountain Dew”, by a number of service members close to him. 
- Another young service member reflected that he had not been “this close to death before”, having not experienced loss in in personal life, at the young age of 20 years old.  
- Another U.S. Army mate shared his feelings of loss, as the service member who passed was just about to celebrate his 21st birthday and they had made plans to mark the occasion together.  Instead, this man shared, he was out alone on his fallen friend’s birthday and lifted a glass in his memory. 

The fallen heroes include:
• Maj. Jeffrey O'Brien, 45, of Waukee, Iowa
• Capt. Cody Khork, 35, of Winter Haven, Florida
• Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54, of Spotsylvania, Virginia
• Sgt. 1st Class Noah Tietjens, 42, of Bellevue, Nebraska
• Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, 39, of White Bear Lake, Minnesota
• Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa

LCC volunteers noted that there was a reflective, peaceful atmosphere around the hearts, as each group came through, remembering the lost. 

The division chaplain struggled to write on each heart, having known each of the soldiers personally.  Similarly, many of the soldiers took their time, coming back to the hearts time and again, choosing intentionally what to write.  

“We are so thankful that these hearts will be gifted directly to the families of the service members who died,” said Sarah Sekki, Director of Hearts of Mercy & Compassion. “We pray that they will be strengthened throughout their grief journey.”

K-9 Comfort Dog handlers, similarly, witnessed unique “God moments.”

Kim Gastler, a veteran and handler for Kare 9 Military Dog Joy handed out challenge coins to service members. “Everyone loved the coins and some were really surprised to receive one,” he said. 

Steve and Roxy Hurry, handlers for Comfort Dog Persis, spent time with a young family with two small children. Facebook messages had sustained the couple during those long months away. He enjoyed seeing Persis and when the Roxys presented him a stuffie dog, tears flowed. “Our dogs brought him back to … the reality of being home,” Steve shared.

Paul and LaRae Witsaman with Kare 9 Military Dog Pax said their “God moment” was simply sitting with soldiers and “just giving them peace.” They listened to stories and handed out stuffies to the kids. One mom, a kindergarten teacher with two kids, needed prayers and long hugs. “It felt like she was just hanging on. She was so grateful to the comfort dogs.”

Terry Young, who was with Comfort Dog Olive, is a veteran who had done a tour of duty in Kuwait in 1999 while in the U.S. Air Force. He said having the hearts and crosses right next to the comfort dogs provided a natural flow. “People could reflect and leave notes to the fallen soldiers, and then they could be comforted by the dogs and have the opportunity to talk about their experiences — and potentially be prayed for,” he said. “having been through many line of duty deaths myself, I can see how this was a blessing.”
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Also with Olive was LuAnn Kelly, who spent a lot of time with a 22-year-old woman who is a single mom and caregiver for her mother. She had a tattoo that was a tribute to the fallen soldiers. It is 6 lines and the spacing had meaning with fading ashes falling beneath it. She said many in her unit got the tattoo including the Chaplin.

With Triton Comfort Dog were Jane and Jerry Baedke, who talked with a family who had a soldier still making recovery visits to Walter Reed Hospital. While his arm is limited, he made an effort to sign all six hearts. The Baedkes prayed with him, his wife, two children and his mother, who had tears in her eyes. Triton picked up on the emotional vulnerability and positioned himself on the soldier’s foot during the prayer.

LCC thanks the following volunteers who served on this outreach:

K-9 Comfort Dog Teams

Kare 9 Military Ministry Dog Joy  
⁠Kim (U.S. Navy) and Karen Gastler

Kare 9 Military Ministry Dog Pax 
LaRae Witsaman 
Paul Witsaman MP (U.S. Air Force)

Persis Comfort Dog
Roxy and Steve Hurry

Olive Comfort Dog
Bob Hampton 
Samantha Hosti 
LuAnn Kelly
Trista Schweitzer
Terry Young MP (U.S. Air Force / Air National Guard)

Triton Comfort Dog
Jane and Jerry Baedke


Hearts of Mercy & Compassion Team
Sandy Cooper 
Ed and Diane Fager