Flags-In is a time honored tradition that is reserved for Soldiers of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard). Since The Old Guard’s designation as the Army’s official ceremonial unit in 1948, they have conducted this mission annually at Arlington National Cemetery prior to Memorial Day to honor our nation’s fallen military heroes.

On 6 August 2011, a U.S. Boeing CH-47 Chinock military helicopter, call sign 'Extortion 17', was shot down while transporting a quick reaction force attempting to reinforce an engaged unit of Army Rangers in Wardak province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan.

The resulting crash killed all 38 people on board — 25 American special operations personnel, five United States Army National Guard and Army Reserve crewmen, seven Afghan commandos, and one Afghan interpreter — as well as a U.S. military working dog.

Extortion17 is considered the worst loss of U.S Military life in a single incident in the Afghanistan campaign, surpassing Operation Red Wings in 2005

Lou Langlais was a Navy SEAL, a precision parachute jumper and a rock climber who scaled cliffs, sometimes without a rope. With a striking ability to suppress fear, he was known for leading his comrades into dangerous situations with a sense of calm, confidence and even fun.

Thomas Ratzlaff wanted to be a Navy SEAL ever since he was a young boy growing up in Green Forest, AK.

“He did what he loved and died defending those he loved and those who loved him,” his nephew, Jeff Adams, said as he read a statement from the family.
Tom had two sons and a wife expecting their third child — a girl — in November 2011. He also leaves behind a sister and mother.

Senior Chief Special Operator Heath Michael Robinson was born June 5, 1977 in Alma, Michigan. He later graduated from Petoskey High School in June 1995. In June 1993, after the downing of a Black Hawk helicopter in Mogadishu Somalia Heath was inspired to become a Navy SEAL. Immediately following high school in January 1996 he enlisted in the United States Navy.

Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Stephen M. Mills, 35, of Fort Worth, TX, enlisted in January 1997, according to the Navy. Stephen died doing his job. “He loved his country, and he felt like what he was doing was right,” said his mother, Cheryl Mills.

Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Matthew D. Mason, 37, grew up in Holt, Missouri and played football and baseball at Kearney High School. He graduated from Northwest Missouri State University in 1998, where he met his wife, Jessica.
Matthew graduated from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training in Coronado, CA in January 2001, and after completing Naval Special Warfare Advanced Training in June of 2001, he reported to a SEAL Team on the west coast, and later moved to an east coast team in 2006. A severe arm injury and a collapsed lung during fighting in Fallujah in 2004, didn’t keep Matthew off the Iraq War battlefield, nor did it dull his competitive fire.  Five months after suffering these injuries, the avid runner and former high school athlete, finished the Kansas City Triathlon and rejoined his SEAL team. He is survived by his wife, and three sons.

Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Kevin A. Houston, 36, of West Hyannisport, Mass., was remembered as a kind and gregarious man who lived his dream when he joined the elite force.
Some 25 years ago, a fifth-grade teacher in Massachusetts asked student Joe Kennedy to greet a new transfer student from San Jose. The California kid, Kevin Houston, walked up to Kennedy and said: “Hi, I’m Kevin. I’m going to be a Navy SEAL.”
Houston was born to be a member of the military’s most elite squad, overcoming a series of hurdles that would have made a lesser man falter, his friends and family recalled.

Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Brian Robert Bill was born on August 23, 1979 in Stamford, Connecticut. He was the son of Dr. Michael and Patricia Parry of Stamford, CT, and Scott Bill of Sarasota, Florida. Brian was the best of the best - a Navy SEAL, special forces warrior, loving son and brother. Brian died doing what he did well and doing what he believed was right, fighting to protect our freedom.
Brian grew up with his brother Christian and sister Amy in Stamford. He was gifted, fearless, and had boundless energy. Brian was an avid outdoorsman, participating from an early age in swimming, tennis, water polo, diving, little league, soccer, and ice hockey. Aside from organized team sports, he also enjoyed Boy Scouts (earning the rank of Eagle Scout), fly-fishing, and golf.

Navy Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL/Parachutist) Christopher G. Campbell may have been physically slight, but family and friends said the Navy SEAL was always ready to take on a challenge.

His mother, Diane Campbell, told The Daily News of Jacksonville, N.C., she remembered him and his older brother learning to ride a unicycle brought back from Okinawa as one example of her son’s determination.

Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Jason R. Workman, 32, of Blanding, Utah, had his sights set on becoming a SEAL as a young teenager. He was about 14 when his older brother graduated from West Point. That’s when he knew he wanted to be an elite soldier, friend Tate Bennett told The Deseret News. Then came the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and Workman’s calling grew even stronger.

“He didn’t become a Navy SEAL by chance,” Bennett said. “He knew that’s what he wanted at a young age and made it happen.”

Navy Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Aaron C. Vaughn. His grandmother, Geneva Vaughn of Union City, TN., told The Associated Press that her grandson, a TN native, had wanted to be a SEAL since he was a child and returned to combat just two weeks after his 2-month-old daughter was born this summer.

“Aaron was a Christian and he’s with Jesus today,” Vaughn said. “He told us when we saw him last November that he wasn’t afraid because he knew where he was going, and he said, ‘Granny, don’t worry about me.’

“He was a tough warrior, but he was a gentle man.”

Navy Master-at-Arms Petty Officer 1st Class (Expeditionary Warfare Specialist) John Douangdara was a dog handler for Navy SEAL Team Six. "I know that he loved his job, it was a job he chose," his mother said. The family's sadness was tempered with pride that their brother and son had served his country, a country that welcomed these Laotian immigrants 31 years ago.
"We are proud Johnny fought for the country that embraced our family and gave us the opportunity to reach for the American dream," said Chan Follen, the oldest of five children in the family.
Sengchanh and Phouthasith Douangdara fled Communist forces in their native Laos in 1979. After the birth of their first child, daughter Chan, they immigrated to the U.S., part of a large contingent of refugees at the time who escaped Laos, living in South Sioux City.

Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Joseph Strange, a cryptology technician. Michael had served as a member of SEAL Team Six when it was reported to have assassinated Osama bin Laden at the beginning of May 2011. But on August 6, 2011 Michael was killed—along with fourteen other members of SEAL Team Six, two other Navy SEALs, thirteen US Army and US Navy support personnel, seven Afghan commandos, one Afgan interpreter and one US military working dog—when the CH-47D Chinook helicopter in which they were traveling was shot down by the Taliban.
But this was no ordinary tragedy in the horrific course of warfare; it was a deeply suspicious event. And many of the families who lost loved ones that day continue to press their catalog of serious questions that the authorities seem unwilling to answer.