Fallen soldiers honored at Fort Hood

KILLEEN, Texas (KXAN) - Families and friends at Fort Hood took time Friday morning to remember 69 soldiers who lost their lives in Iraq.

Army officials on the post near Killeen invited families to a memorial re-dedication ceremony held in front of the First Calvary Division Headquarters. Families and friends crowded onto two sets of bleachers, as soldiers passed tissues, recognizing the day's events. More than 1,000 people attended the ceremony.

This ceremony on Friday honored the lives of those who fought in Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2008 to January of this year.

69 additions were made to the wall before the ceremony Friday, and family members and friends scratched memorials to engrave the names on paper.

More than 20 family members and friends of Sgt. Reuben Fernandez showed up to the ceremony.

Fernandez died from an improvised explosive device in October 2008 near the Iran border.

"No one wants to see their son's name on that wall," said Aurora Fernandez, Sgt. Fernandez's mother. "I know he died an honorable young man and he deserved it."

Other families hugged and cried as they touched the names on the wall Friday morning.

The First Cavalry Division dedicated the memorial in April 2006. Friday marked the second re-dedication for the First Cavalry Division.

The memorial cost roughly $35,000 paid for by private donations.