A Few Minutes Past 2:00 a.m.
40 Miles South of Kabul, Afghanistan
Two U.S. Army Chinook Helicopters,
Call Signs “Extortion 16”and “Extortion 17”
Lifted Into Darkness andAccelerated Toward a Destination
Less Than 20 Miles West
Extortion 17 Would Not Return
A Taliban Fighter Shot the Helicopter Out of the Sky with a Rocket-Propelled Grenade
The United States Lost 31 Heroes
It was the Deadliest Helicopter Crash in the
History of U.S. Special Forces
Those Killed Ranked Among the World’s Most Highly Trained and
Experienced Commandos
They Were Also…Sons, Husbands, Dads,
They Were Also…Brothers, Relatives,
They Were Also…and Best Friends
This Memorial Day Weekend
While You Remember Those Lost Defending Our Country
We Would Like to Introduce You to Two of the 31 Heroes
Who Were Connectedto Freedom Bankers…
Bryan J. Nichols
U.S. Army ReserveCo-Pilot
Bryan J. Nichols
U.S. Army ReserveCo-Pilot
Bryan and his son Braydon
Bryan J. Nichols
U.S. Army ReserveCo-Pilot
Chris Waldschmidt, Freedom Bank
Chief Operations Officer, and Bryan were great friends
Jon T. Tumilson
“JT”U.S. Navy Seal
Jon T. Tumilson
“JT”U.S. Navy Seal
JT’s loyal companion“Hawkeye”
mourns at JT’s casket
Jon T. Tumilson
“JT”U.S. Navy Seal
JT is the nephew,and namesake,of Al Bangtson’s(Freedom Bank
Senior Commercial Officer)Step Dad
It Is Important to Remember
On This or Any Other Memorial Day Weekend
That While These 31 Men Were Extraordinary
They Were Also Very Real
And They Were Defending
And They Were Defending All of Us