Laura Margaret Walker

West Point, 2003

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Patrick Sullivan on August 24, 2005:

To the friends and family of Laura, I have been lucky enough to have been serving in the same unit as Laura for the past year and a half. Even though I didn?t know her while we went to school together, she was such a personable person that the first time I did meet her, it seemed as if we had been friends for years. In the next year at Fort Lewis, we had some great times together. As a close group of LTs in the Battalion, we would often spend some time in Vancouver, Seattle, and some lazy times in Tacoma. As Laura heard that my cooking skills were lacking, she initiated a little cooking group with three others. I have never eaten so well in my entire life, as she really was a fantastic cook. But Laura was good at anything she put her mind to. She loved being a platoon leader more than anyone else I knew. Her love and care for her soldiers went unmatched. It was a sad day when she had to move out of her platoon and into the S-5 slot as the Task Force PAO. She really did not like the job at all, but that didn?t stop her from doing the best that she possibly could. She certainly was great at that job too. She got interviews and articles written about one of my soldiers and myself, as well as many others in the Task Force. The only good part about her new job was that she was able to travel around a lot more and see all her friends. I was lucky enough to spend five days with her while she followed around my platoon about three weeks ago. I was also lucky enough to spend an afternoon with her the day before she passed away. The Task Force Commander came to see my jobsite, and Laura was there to get a few good pictures. We went up on the hillside next to the road to get a bird?s eye view of the project, and it was amazing. We took so many pictures. On the first hill, the whole entourage made the trip, but by the third hill there were only four people remaining. Of course Laura was one of them as well as the Task Force Commander, his driver, and me. We sat at the top of the breezy hill and talked about how much this project was going to help the people of Afghanistan. I will never forget those last moments that I was able to have with her. I only knew her for a short period of time, but she was a person that made everyone around her better. I know I surely am a better person for just knowing Laura Walker. Patrick Sullivan Class of 2003

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