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2/7 Marines OEF 2008: Courage, Sacrifice, and the Names We Carry
The 2/7 OEF 2008 memorial bracelet carries the memory of a deployment that left families and fellow service members with names they would never forget. To understand the tribute, we can turn to the Marine Corps’ own accounts of courage in Afghanistan and the ceremony held for those who did not return.
Courage under fire
On July 21, 2008, Lance Cpl. Brady Gustafson was serving as a machine gunner with Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, during a mounted patrol in Shewan, Afghanistan. According to the Marine Corps, the patrol came under machine-gun and rocket-propelled-grenade fire. A rocket struck his vehicle, severely wounded his leg, and knocked the driver unconscious.
Gustafson continued firing from the turret while another Marine applied a tourniquet. After regaining consciousness, the driver moved the vehicle and helped push another disabled vehicle out of danger. Gustafson remained at his weapon until the Marines had escaped the burning vehicle. He survived and was later awarded the Navy Cross. His story is included here as a documented example of the courage within the battalion, alongside remembrance of its fallen.
The men remembered at Twentynine Palms
On December 12, 2008, Marines, sailors, families, and friends gathered at Lance Cpl. Torrey L. Gray Field for 2/7’s memorial service. The official account describes 20 memorials honoring men lost during the deployment, including Marines, a Navy corpsman, an Army Soldier, and an Afghan interpreter.
Among those named were Sgt. Michael T. Washington, Capt. Eric D. Terhune, Navy Hospital Corpsman Dustin K. Burnett, Lance Cpl. Ivan I. Wilson, and Capt. Trevor J. Yurista. They are examples from the ceremony’s longer roll of the fallen, not a complete list. The service gave families and comrades time to stand together, remember their loved ones, and share their stories.
Keep the names connected to their lives
A bracelet cannot contain everything a person meant to those around them. It can keep a name close and give us a reason to learn more. For a unit tribute, that responsibility extends to each person represented and to the families who continue to remember them.
Black Horse Fabrications’ 2/7 OEF 2008 memorial bracelet offers a daily way to remember. Carry the names with respect. Read the records. Make room for the stories of the men who wore the uniform and those who served beside them.
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