This story comes from Cristie, submitted in exchange for military patches
Today is a very sad day for people living in Louisiana we have lost yet another one of our heroes. Sgt Christopher P. Soderlund 23 of Pineville, La died July 9, 2011 in Logar Province Afghanistan of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with rocket propelled grenade fire. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team,10th Mountain Division out of Fort Polk Louisiana. Sgt Soderlund joined the Army in March 2006. After training at Fort Benning Ga he was stationed at Fort Irwin, Ca. He arrived at Fort Polk in November of 2007 and deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from December 2007 to January 2009. He deployed with his unit in October to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Sgt Soderlund's award and decorations include the Bronze Star, The Purple Heart, The Army Commendation Medal, The Valorous Unit Award, The Army Good Conduct Medal, The National Defense Service Medal, The Iraq Campaign Medal, The Afghanistan Campaign Medal, The Global War On Terrorism Service Medal, The Non Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, The Army Service Ribbon, The Overseas Service Ribbon, The NATO Medal and The Combat Infantryman Badge. Sgt Soderlund is survived by his wife, two children, mother, father and stepfather. This comes just days after we brought SSGT Michael Garcia home. I was with the Patriot Guard and Ssgt Garcia's family at the Shreveport Airport on July 11, 2011 when the plane carrying Ssgt Garcia's body landed. This was a very sad and somber moment when the plane opened up and they carried his flag draped casket off. The last person to see Ssgt Michael Garcia's casket was his 10 year old son Elijah who then wrapped his arms around his daddy's casket and said "Why did you have to go daddy". At that moment there was not a dry eye on that tarmac that hot summer day. It pains me to hear that Louisiana lost another brave hero. I now get to get ready to make that trip to be there and stand tall and proud for Sgt Soderlund and give him his final salute.
