Captain Andrew Lane, safety officer for the 48th IBCT, presents Mary O'Steen the U.S. flag in honor of her brother Sgt. Robert Nichols, who died in January from injuries suffered during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Nichols was a Soldier in the 36th Infantry Division, Texas Army National Guard. Soldiers of the brigade’s Headquarters Company joined in the ceremony, as did Nichols’ nieces Sandra and Ariel O’Steen. (Photo by Staff Sgt. David Bill, 48th IBCT Public Affairs)

MACON – At the request of one of its own, Headquarters Company of Georgia’s 48th Infantry Brigade Combat Team paid tribute to a Texas Army Guardsman and the Warner Robins-based family he left behind.

The Soldier who made the request, Spc. David O’Steen, is an infantryman and the brother-in-law of the late Sgt. Robert Nichols. It was O’Steen’s wife, Mary, and Nichols’ sister who accepted the American flag presented by Headquarters Company in honor of her brother’s sacrifice.

The ceremony took place outside brigade headquarters. Captain Andrew Lane, brigade safety officer, made the presentation.

Nichols, a former 82nd Airborne Soldier, died Jan. 22 in San Antonio while trying to recover from injuries he received while serving with the Texas Guard’s 36th Infantry Division in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His wounds, O’Steen said, were the result of a November 2007 mortar and rocket attack.

"Robert had been hospitalized for about three months before he left us," he said. "He was one hell of a Soldier, and strongly believed in what he was doing. We all miss him so much."

Mary, O’Steen said, was having a difficult time dealing with her brother’s death. O’Steen, who works as a structural mechanic for the Air Force at Robins Air Force Base, said he talked to Lane one day this past week about his brother-in-law, his death and the effect it was having on Mary.

"The captain listened and when I was finished, (he) asked me if she might accept a U.S. flag from the unit in honor of Robert," O’Steen explained. "Apparently he still had a couple left over from when the brigade had been in Iraq.

Lane had bought several, he recalled, and flew them during the 48th’s yearlong deployment, said O’Steen . Most were sent to families of brigade Soldiers, for one reason or another, he added.

"I told the captain I was sure Mary would, but that was about all I could say," he continued. "It really threw me for a loop. I mean, no one in the unit knew Robert, yet the unit was willing to recognize his courage and his sacrifice as it would one of its own."

Several days later, O’Steen recalled, Lane said he talked with Headquarters Company first sergeant, 1st Sgt. Charles Sheard about honoring Nichols. Sheard, he said, stated he would be honored to perform the ceremony and have Mary and her family as the unit’s guests.

"Doesn’t matter that he wasn’t a Georgia Guardsman or part of our unit," Sheard said. "We may not have known sergeant Nichols personally. He was, is, always will be a comrade–in-arms, and that’s all that matters."

With the ceremony ended and the flag honoring her brother prominently displayed in the O’Steen home, Mary reflected on how she felt when Lane bent down and presented it to her, blue field up, stars showing.

"I can’t begin to put into words how deeply touched I am, how very grateful I am to them for what they did," she said. "I was quite emotional then, and I remain so every time I think about it."

There’s no way, Mary said, that she can ever fully express her appreciation for what the Officers and Soldiers of Headquarters Company, 48th IBCT, did. It will never be enough just to say, "thank you."

"It wasn’t something they had to do," she said. "For them to honor Robert that way is about the most wonderful thing anyone could have done, for him and for us."

| News Home | GADOD Home |