WINCHESTER, Va. (AP) — The Virginia National Guard is holding a memorial ceremony for two soldiers killed in action 10 years ago.
Officials say a service is planned Friday night in Winchester in honor of 39-year-old Staff Sgt. Craig Cherry and 36-year-old Sgt. Bobby Beasley.
Cherry was a native of Winchester and Beasley was a native of Inwood, West Virginia. Both served in the Guard following years of U.S. military service.
They were members of Virginia National Guard’s 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment, 116th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
Beasley and Cherry were killed when an improvised explosive device destroyed their vehicle Aug. 7, 2004, during a patrol in eastern Afghanistan.
The deaths marked the first combat deaths of a mobilized Virginia Guards Soldiers since the end of World War II in 1945.
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