{"id":461546,"date":"2025-05-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=461546"},"modified":"2025-05-29T07:18:40","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T07:18:40","slug":"heros-boots-memorial-display-at-camp-zama-offers-deeply-personal-tribute-to-fallen-troops","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/?p=461546","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Hero\u2019s Boots\u2019 memorial display at Camp Zama offers deeply personal tribute to fallen troops"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n Chief Warfare Officer 2 Ronnie Haddox, assigned to the 5th Transportation Company (Composite Watercraft Company) at Yokohama North Dock, looks at boots on display at the \u201cHero\u2019s Boots\u201d ceremony held May 16 on Camp Zama in honor of Memorial Day.
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CAMP ZAMA, Japan \u2013 As he knelt on the grass viewing combat boots placed there as symbols for fallen service members, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Ronnie Haddox reflected on his personal connection to the display.<\/p>\n

The \u201cHero\u2019s Boots\u201d ceremony that the Army Community Service team hosted for the public here May 16 in conjunction with Memorial Day was a fitting event for Haddox and others to honor the memory of those who made the ultimate sacrifice.<\/p>\n

ACS reached out to the community to temporarily donate combat boots \u2014 either their own or those of someone they knew \u2014 that were displayed near Camp Zama\u2019s main gate for the ceremony. The boots had miniature American flags, photos and other memorabilia that donors contributed if they wanted to pay respects to a specific person.<\/p>\n

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\n Soldiers salute fallen service members during the \u201cHero\u2019s Boots\u201d ceremony held May 16 on Camp Zama in honor of Memorial Day.
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Haddox, currently assigned to the 5th Transportation Company (Composite Watercraft Company) at Yokohama North Dock, was there to remember four former teammates with whom he served in Afghanistan 12 years ago.<\/p>\n

In 2013, he was deployed with the 766th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company from Fort Stewart, Georgia, as an EOD technician. On May 14 of that year, in an abandoned village in Kandahar, an infantry dismounted patrol struck an improvised explosive device, IED. The team\u2019s medic, in an attempt to save the life of the initial victim, triggered a second IED.<\/p>\n

The situation escalated when the first EOD team, led by Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey C. Baker, responded. Baker, the EOD team leader, tragically triggered a third IED, killing him instantly. Others killed that day included Spc. Mitchell K. Daehling, William J. Gilbert and Cody J. Towse<\/p>\n

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\n Soldiers look at boots on display at the \u201cHero\u2019s Boots\u201d ceremony held May 16 on Camp Zama in honor of Memorial Day.
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Haddox\u2019s team was the second EOD unit called in to deal with the aftermath. Their mission was to go in and clear the area and recover the remains.<\/p>\n

The incident had a profound impact on Haddox, he said. When he learned of Camp Zama\u2019s memorial event, he knew he had to participate. The boots he donated belonged to him, but the honor was for his teammates who were killed in action on that day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought, there\u2019s no better use for these boots than to donate them for the memorial,\u201d he said. \u201cFor me, remembering these Soldiers is a fundamental responsibility \u2026 because they paid the ultimate price for this country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Haddox mourns all those who were killed that day, but personally knew Baker, whom he said was known for his upstanding character and dedication to his unit\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n

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\n Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey C. Baker, front center in the explosive ordnance disposal suit, then assigned to the 63rd Ordnance Battalion, 52nd Ordnance Group, at Fort Stewart, Georgia, poses with his team in Afghanistan in 2013. Baker was one of four members of the team who were killed during that deployment in an improvised explosive device attack. (Courtesy Photo)
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\u201cHe was first and foremost a good man and a good Soldier \u2014 a good EOD tech [and] a good EOD leader,\u201d Haddox said. \u201cFor this deployment, he was a last-minute replacement for another team leader. He didn\u2019t have to go on this deployment; he volunteered.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the history of the Army, which celebrates its 250th birthday this year, Haddox said there Soldiers have been laying down their lives for their country even before it was a country. And every Soldier, himself included, owes a debt to those who came before them \u2014 especially those who died in service to their country, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe owe it to those Soldiers to, as much as humanly possible, remember them and to carry their stories forward and create an unbroken line going back 250 years up until today,\u201d Haddox said. \u201cThat is the story of the U.S. Army.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information on the Soldiers killed in action who were mentioned in this story, visit:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/thefallen.militarytimes.com\/army-sgt-1st-class-jeffrey-c-baker\/6568451<\/p>\n

https:\/\/thefallen.militarytimes.com\/army-spc-mitchell-k-daehling\/6568449<\/p>\n

https:\/\/thefallen.militarytimes.com\/army-spc-william-j-gilbert\/6568450<\/p>\n

https:\/\/thefallen.militarytimes.com\/army-spc-cody-j-towse\/6568455<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chief Warfare Officer 2 Ronnie Haddox, assigned to the 5th Transportation Company (Composite Watercraft Company) at Yokohama North Dock, looks at boots on display at the \u201cHero\u2019s Boots\u201d ceremony held May 16 on Camp Zama in honor of Memorial Day. (Photo Credit: Noriko Kudo) VIEW ORIGINAL CAMP ZAMA, Japan \u2013 As he knelt on the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":461548,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-461546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=461546"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461546\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":461553,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461546\/revisions\/461553"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/461548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=461546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=461546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adn.monetizemail.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=461546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}