SSG Andrew R. Pokorny - I am sorry old friend I forgot about today.

Service member’s I would like to take a moment to remember a GREAT Non-Commissioned Officer, a GREAT friend, OUTSTANDING Soldier and loving father. On Friday the 13th in the month of June 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom SSG Andrew R. Pokorny gave his life to save his Soldier's life. I am writing this here because I did the unthinkable..... This year I forgot and did not remember until a former Predator battery NCO placed it on his facebook page. I should have never forgotten him. I remember the last time I saw him, he came into our small room we were bunked in at Webster base, known to everyone else as Al Asad Air Base to retrieve a small American flag before he went out on patrol. I remember this day for I was pulled from the mission at the last second due to me staying up and waiting in line to use a SAT phone for a few minutes to figure out why I had received Red Cross message from my wife. This ate me up inside for years, I always placed the blame of his death on myself for not going on that mission that day, maybe he would have been safe back at base or maybe I could have helped prevent this tragedy . Over the years many have said “it was not your time” and “he saved another’s life” and many others things that have never quite helped. I have always been the one to put aside these feelings and never let them show to anyone. I know I am rambling but when I realized what day it was memories flooded my mind and brought tears to my eyes for the first time in many years. I remembered the 1st day in the unit and being greeted by this monster sized man, smiled and greeted me. I remember sitting in the barracks with the rest of the platoon joking around. I remember being Iraq on my birthday on May 15th 2003 and that morning T-rats arrived and SSG Pokorny cut a piece of the coffee cake and placed a lighter on top and wishing me a happy birthday with his big smile. I remember all the times he would come out to have a smoke with us and just talk, joke and treat you as someone of worth. He was the MacGyver of our unit, spoke his mind and could fix anything with nothing. I am sorry I forgot but I never will again. I will be at Brame’s Elite Cigars tonight after work and I hope all who see this will join me in raising a toast to SSG Andrew R. Pokorny, you are missed to this day.

SFC Timothy P. Riser