This article was first published June 16, 2016 at 11:21 a.m.
Ford Hood will host a memorial service Thursday for eight of the nine soldiers who died June 2 during training at the Texas post when their Light Medium Tactical Vehicle overturned in a flooded crossing.
The ninth, U.S. Military Academy Cadet Mitchell Alexander Winey, was honored at a June 9 service at the Spirit of Fort Hood Chapel. The earlier service was scheduled so other cadets attending Cadet Troop Leadership Training at Fort Hood could pay their respects before returning to West Point, the Fort Hood Sentinel reported Thursday.
More than 300 people attended the ceremony, according to the base newspaper. Zain Shaikh, Winey's best friend and fellow cadet, called on the crowd "to celebrate the great memories of a beautiful life, even if it was too short."
Cadet Mitchell Alexander Winey.
Photo Credit: Courtesy U.S. Military Academy
Winey, of Valparaiso, Indiana, majored in engineering management at West Point and had been "a rising leader in his class and a friend to everyone who knew him," USMA Superintendent Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen said in a statement shortly after the June 2 incident.
More than 300 people attended a June 9 memorial service for U.S. Military Academy Cadet Mitchell Winey at Fort Hood, Texas.
Photo Credit: Nick Conner/Army via Fort Hood (Texas) Sentinel
