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It’s a tough task to write your friend and brother’s memorial article—how do you translate what he meant to you and who he really was into words? How do you convey the good times, the laughter, and the thrills? How do you express how much someone meant to so many people, and how even now, more than nine years after Matt’s death in Afghanistan, how much we still miss him?</p>
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<em>Matthew Charles ‘Matt’ Ferrara</em> was the middle child of five and grew up in Torrance, CA. By all accounts he was a strong-willed, adventurous, and gifted child. A star student and athlete, Matt could have gone to any school in the country, but he chose West Point, following his older brother Marcus, who was in the Class of 1997.</p>
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At West Point, Matt was the cadet that we, his friends, looked up to. Matt was a star wreather, top 10 in our class, and a varsity athlete on the Track and Cross Country teams. He double majored in economics and Mandarin, and had the chance to compete for a Rhodes Scholarship, which he declined to the dismay of his academic advisors. When asked by his then-roommate Lev Mazeres why he passed on the opportunity, Matt said he wanted to be at the tip of the spear and didn’t come to West Point to be an academic. After graduation, Matt attended Infantry Office Basic Course (IOBC), Ranger, and Airborne Schools, and joined the 173rd Airborne Brigade in Vicenza, Italy.</p>
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But Matt was more than just a model cadet and officer. He had a fire, a passion for life that was unquenchable, and frankly, could scare the you-know-what out of us at times. When Joe Simenic went surfing in Costa Rica with Matt, Matt told Joe to just ignore the rip current and follow him in. Needless to say, that didn’t work out well for ole Joe. Back in Torrance during one of our annual New Year’s trips, Matt told Bryan Jackson we were going “ice plant sledding,” and that we may end up with a few minor bruises. Again, a little bit of an understatement. And then there was the time Matt took me (a horrible skier) and Lev (a moderately good snowboarder) up to Mammoth Mountain in the middle of a blizzard, to the top of a slope that was promptly shut down due to unsafe conditions, and told us that we better get down somehow. I lost a ski and rolled down the trail, while Matt laughed the entire time. And never mind getting in a car with him when he wanted to head over the Bear Mountain Bridge and show Route 9 who was boss.</p>
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Matt was also incredibly funny and had a biting wit—just look at his <em>Howitzer</em> entry. He knew when and how to cheer up his friends during those dreary gray nights at West Point. Whether it was busting into your room playing his guitar, or “forcing you” to play video games instead of studying, Matt reminded us of what really mattered—spending time with the people who are important to you. Matt loved his family and told us all how much Mario, Linda, Marcus, Simone, Pete, Damon, Andy, and Kimi meant to him.</p>
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Of all of Matt’s impressive traits, his humility was what was stood out the most. If you didn’t know Matt, you might not realize how incredibly smart he was, or how he could drop you in a PT test without breaking a sweat. You wouldn’t think this mellow guy spent his time before deploying jaunting around Europe, running with the bulls, cliff diving in Croatia, and skiing the Alps. In our constant back-and-forth emails, Matt never mentioned his actions in a fire fight months before he was killed, where his platoon-sized COP was attacked by over 100 Taliban, and for which he was awarded a Silver Star. Matt never said anything because awards and honors were not important to Matt: his integrity, honor, family, and friends were what mattered.</p>
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Matt also didn’t convey to us what life was really like for him in Afghanistan. Matt’s platoon occupied a small patrol base in mountainous Aranus, Afghanistan known as the Ranch House. He was in constant contact with the enemy and, according to his soldiers, was a rock of stability and an incredible leader. The exploits of the men of Chosen Company, 2-503d will be remembered in the annals of U.S. military history for the valor they demonstrated during that deployment.</p>
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Matt Ferrara was killed on November 9, 2007 in an ambush alongside five of his men. His RTO, Kyle White, was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in the fight. While Matt gave the ultimate sacrifice for his country that day, his spirit and legacy live on through every person who knew and loved him. Matt’s example drives all of us to be better people; to strive and fight for what’s right, no matter what the cost. Matt is the embodiment of all that is right and good with our alma mater—a man who put Duty, Honor, Country first and foremost.</p>
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Not a day goes by that grief still doesn’t hit us. We all miss Matt terribly—we always will—and would give anything to have Matt back. But we know that one day, when we cross that river to grip hands with the members of the Corps long dead, we will see Matt again.</p>
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<em>— Matt Vigeant ’05</em></p>