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<p>I can see Garrison sitting there at his desk in Grant Barracks after lunch. It’s plebe year in early 2001. He’s wearing his parka, “USMA 04” emblazoned over his heart. We are both nervous. Next period we will stand in front of our classmates and recite an assigned poem from memory. We take turns saying it to one another. The poem begins…</p>
<p><em>If I should die, think only this of me.</em></p>
<p>Rupert Brooke, a British soldier, wrote the poem entitled “The Soldier” during the First World War, where he died on his way to the Gallipoli landings. He was 27 years old.</p>
<p>I can still hear Garrison’s voice reciting that opening line with a softness which marked his humility, or, as General MacArthur described in his famous “Duty, Honor, Country” speech, “the meekness of true strength.” Like Brooke, Garrison would succumb to war’s awful price far too young.</p>
<p><em>Garrison Charles Avery</em> was born to Gary and Susan Avery on May 2, 1982 in Lincoln, NE. The oldest child beside two brothers and a sister, Garrison began planning his military career at age 11. His mother recalls that he set realistic goals and was unwavering in his pursuit. He went to Lincoln High School, where he approached his academic studies with an eye towards practical military usefulness. His physics teacher recalled Garrison studying subjects such as terminal velocity and projectiles from a military perspective. At age 17 and still a high school senior, he joined the Army ROTC program at the University of Nebraska and enlisted in the Army National Guard.</p>
<p>In the summer of 2000, Garrison joined the West Point Class of 2004. From R-Day onward, his focus was on someday leading soldiers under fire. Everything else was but corollary. He participated in the Sandhurst competition. He redesigned uniforms and equipment (within regulations) to make them more functional. He chose Military Art & Science as his field of study. He pursued the most difficult training made available to cadets at the time, like Sapper School and the Special Forces Assessment and Selection course. It was the first year the latter was offered to cadets. Garrison excelled in this environment, structured to push candidates to their physical and mental limits. Special Forces was his ultimate goal. He finished the course among the top of his class, consisting of soldiers far more experienced. </p>
<p>He cared not for badges or rank though. He only cared about becoming a soldier others could depend on.</p>
<p>This drive didn’t hamper Garrison’s ability to make strong friendships and have fun along the banks of the Hudson. He became a beloved friend to his F-1 “Firehouse” classmates plebe year. That group, referring to themselves as the “Firehouse Plebes” (or “FHP”), built a lasting bond that continues to this day. Garrison was always there for his classmates: whether diagraming physics problems with dry erase markers on wardrobe doors the night before an exam; waking up at 0530 to run through the Indoor Obstacle Course Test (IOCT); or fixing a car engine along the side of the road on a dark night without tools (for this he was affectionately known as “MacGyver” to his classmates). He was genuine and selfless.</p>
<p>One memorable road trip took place in October 2002, when he and classmates traveled to the University of Wisconsin. Garrison went missing briefly but was later found talking all night with a student named Kayla. They quickly fell in love and were married in June 2005. They packed a lifetime of love and happiness into the three years they had.</p>
<p>After graduation and Ranger training, Garrison was assigned as an infantry platoon leader in Company D, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. He deployed to Iraq in late 2005. His company commander, Lou Kangas ’00, remembered him always leading by example and thinking of others. He recalled Garrison doing one-arm push-ups with his soldiers despite having a dislocated shoulder. He also recalled Garrison’s deep humanity in how he cared for the children of Iraq, organizing a toy drive to brighten an otherwise bleak existence. </p>
<p>On February 1, 2006, a roadside bomb struck his vehicle near Mahmudiyah, Iraq during a patrol. He died alongside Specialist Marlon Bustamante and Private First Class Caesar Viglienzone. He was laid to rest in the West Point Cemetery, alongside two centuries of American heroes. </p>
<p>His memory lives on in many ways. At least two of his classmates named their sons Garrison. In 2020 several of his classmates started the Garrison Avery Memorial Scholarship at Lincoln High School, awarded each year to students of character.</p>
<p>And his memory lives in the hearts of the Iraqi people he served for only a short time. Months after Garrison died, classmate Nicholas Ziemba ’04 and his unit were conducting operations in Garrison’s old sector, known as the “Triangle of Death.” As Ziemba spoke to the local sheikhs, they kept reverently mentioning a “Lieutenant Afry” and how he worked with their schools and saw their potential. Tears came to their eyes as they described the hope he gave them for better days (as chronicled in the 2015 book <em>The Strong Gray Line</em>).</p>
<p>West Point did not make Garrison Avery the man he was. He reported to R-Day as the ideal product of the institution. Duty, Honor and Country were carved into his core. It was his simple human decency which turned out to be the greatest weapon he wielded in war, and the greatest gift he continues to give in memory.</p>
<p>Well Done, Garrison; Be Thou at Peace.</p>
<p><em>— Joe Myers and Garrison’s FHP classmates</em></p>
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