David T Friedrich

Hammond, New York

September 20, 2003

Hello:
My name is Sergeant First Class Morales, SGT Friedrich's (back then, PVT Friedrich) Basic Combat Training Drill Sergeant. It was a terrible day for me the day I was reading the Army Times and saw his picture under the "Human Toll" column. I was reading the paper and when I saw his picture, it looked too familiar to me. . .I ran to my office, where I keep my Drill Sergeant books, and found his picture there. It hurt so much, you never think that that would happen to one of your "kids". It became personal. I remember him as a quiet soldier that always sat towards my right, always ready to volunteer and make it happen for our platoon. He was smart, quick, and mature. I wish I could find his family and tell them how sorry I am about the loss of their loved one, my soldier. There is not one day that goes by that I don't think about him. He was my soldier. And regardless of what they say about Drill Sergeants, we do care about our soldiers, I did then and still do.

David Travis Friedrich was co-captain of his college cross country team and an ace recruiter of fellow distance runners in high school. From Naugatuck, Conn., he was killed Sept. 20 when mortars hit a U.S. base outside Baghdad.

Sgt. David Travis Friedrich was a natural leader. He was co-captain of his college cross country team and was an ace recruiter of fellow distance runners in high school.

"Kids joined the cross country team because he made it fun," said his mother, Beth Friedrich. "He had that kind of personality. He was that kind of leader. He could get people to do things."

Friedrich, 26, of Naugatuck, Conn., was killed Sept. 20, 2003, when mortars hit a U.S. base outside Baghdad.

Friedrich enlisted in the reserves to help pay for graduate school, his mother said. He studied criminal justice and chemistry as an undergraduate at Brockport (N.Y.) State College and was working on a master's degree in forensic science at the University of New Haven. He also had a full-time job at a factory.

Beth Friedrich said her son often surprised her with his intelligence. "I just thought of him as my little boy," she said. 

SGT Friedrich was a great soldier, one of "the best". His legacy lives on in our hearts, and the memories I had with him while in Iraq. Out of the army, and 8 years later, Iraq is often a distant memory for me now, but what will never fade, will be the impact this soldier had on myself, and the soldiers of the 325th MI BN. Rest Easy Battle. SGT Gillis, Boston Ma