Norman Taylor, Ryan Haupt and Nathan Frigo honored by comrades

More than 500 soldiers helped pack a chapel at Fort Carson on Wednesday to remember three snipers killed during their final mission in Iraq.

The soldiers stood in the aisles when pews were filled. Most had returned from combat in Iraq in recent days and took time for a final farewell for Staff Sgt. Ryan Haupt, Sgt. Norman Taylor and Spc. Nathan Frigo The three were killed by a roadside bomb Oct. 17 as they escorted a convoy of equipment being hauled from Baqouba to Balad as the brigade prepared to come home.

“These honorable men were true American heroes,” said Lt. Col. Thomas Fisher, who commanded the battalion that included the

snipers, part of the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team.

Fisher said many in his unit owed their safety to the fallen sharpshooters. The three had teamed up to take out three groups of would-be bombers as they placed roadside explosives near Baquoba, where their brigade worked to quell the insurgency.

“Needless to say, it slowed that activity in our sector,” said Fisher.

Fisher was impressed with what the snipers did on the battlefield, but he was was also taken with the bonds the three formed in a short time.

“They were a close-knit cohesive, unit.”

Haupt, 24, of Phoenix, was the leader of the three. He had a fascination with sniper gear, including his 50-caliber rifle that was capable of taking down targets at more than three miles.

Haupt was known as a leader who kept his soldiers smiling. From offering a kind word to programming the ringer on his cellular phone to replicate the sound of a bodily function, he could brighten up dark times.

“He always knew how to make me laugh,” his friend, Sgt. Jeremy Carnevali said during the ceremony.

Taylor, 21, of Blythe, Calif., was a precision shooter who had an equal dedication to fun, Spc. Justin Wells told mourners.

During interludes of calm during the year of combat, Taylor would encourage his buddies to pull all-nighters.

“We’d go buy a case of Red Bull,” Wells said.

The group, amped up on caffeine, would watch movies all night, blowing off the stress of the deployment while keeping each other awake.

“When one of us would fall asleep, we would throw them an energy drink,” Wells said.

Frigo, 23, of Kokomo, Ind., fresh out of basic training when he arrived in Iraq, took his sniper role every seriously.

A friend, Spc. Matthew Inocelda, said Frigo loved cleaning his rifle and even bought his own parts to ensure he could hit long-distance targets with deadly accuracy.

“When we came home from Iraq, I thought the Army would have to give the rifle to him,” Inocelda said. “Half of it was his, anyway.”

He said Frigo was also a loyal comrade, fond of swapping stories, especially about his paint-ball antics.

“For me, there is no greater gift than Frigo and his memories,” Inocelda said.

Maj. Michael Reeves, a chaplain who presided over the ceremony, said thoughts of the three followed him home from Iraq.

“As I stepped off a plane, it was clear to me that not all of us came back,” he said during the ceremony.

The brigade lost 16 soldiers during its most recent Iraq tour, and has lost 23 since the war began in 2003.

Reeves told the hundreds of soldiers at the service to remember their fallen comrades when people show their gratitude.

“When they say, ‘Thank you for your service,’ remember Ryan Haupt, Norman Taylor and Nathan Frigo.”

From the Billings Gazette

Related Link:
Nathan Frigo, Norman Taylor remembered

Related Link:
Norman Taylor laid to rest

Related Link:
Norman Taylor remembered

Related Link:
Norman R. Taylor killed by roadside bomb

Related Link:
Ryan E. Haupt, on 3rd tour, killed by roadside bomb

Related Link:
Nathan Frigo laid to rest

Related Link:
Nathan Frigo remembered

Related Link:
Nathan J. Frigo killed by roadside bomb