Memorial Dedication to Fallen Soldiers

JACKSONVILLE, NC (07/16/2010)(readMedia)-- Company A, 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 120th Infantry Regiment, is scheduled to dedicate their new Jacksonville Armory Fallen Soldier Memorial at 11 a.m. on July 17th. The dedication will be in honor of four North Carolina National Guardsmen who lost their lives in Iraq.

Friends, family members, and current and former Guardmembers are invited to attend the service. Those being honored are Sgt. 1st Class Edward Kramer and Army Sgts. Rodger Adams, Juan Baldeosingh and Robert Bittiker. The four Soldiers of the Co. A 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team, were in the same vehicle when it hit a roadside bomb.

The first Jacksonville Armory memorial, dedicated on June 24th, 2005, consisted of two granite markers, dedicated to Army Capt. Christopher Cash and Spc. Daniel Desens, Jr., placed around the armory's flag pole. The new memorial has been built in a new location and incorporates all six markers for those Soldiers. The memorial was financed primarily through fund raisers and donations. The unit also sold KIA memorial bracelets and unit and family support t-shirts for the memorial. Members of the community also pitched in, such as Quincy Edgerton, owner of NC Marble and Granite, who gave a four thousand dollar discount on granite work and acquired a bronze statue. The landscaping for the memorial was designed by Brian Wheat, the step-father of Bittiker.

The memorial is located at 142 Broadhurst Road, Jacksonville, N.C. The ceremony is open to the public. Media representatives who wish to attend are requested to RSVP with the North Carolina National Guard Public Affairs office at pao@ng.army.mil or by phone at (919) 664-6242. For more NCNG news, visit our website: www.nc.ngb.army.mil/.