June 23, 2005

Release A050623a

Rainbow Division Soldiers mourn fallen comrades

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DANGER, TIKRIT , Iraq – In what seems to be an echo of their motto “Never Forget,” 42nd Infantry (Rainbow) Division Soldiers aren't forgetting their fallen comrades.

The division mourned Capt. Phillip Esposito and 1st Lt. Louis Allen with a ceremony here June 15, a little over a week after they were killed in an explosion. Esposito was commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC), 42nd Infantry Division, and Allen was the company operations officer.

At the ceremony, Maj. Tom Roltsch, command chaplain for the 132nd Chaplain Support Team, spoke about the night Esposito and Allen died.

“That night we were shaken by the sound of an explosion and the sudden deaths of two men who not only served with us, but who served us, who served Soldiers,” Roltsch said.

Both Soldiers received military honors during the ceremony, including a moment of silence, a last roll call, firing of volleys and playing of Taps. In accordance with military tradition, each Soldier was represented at the ceremony by empty boots, dog tags, and an inverted rifle with a helmet on top.

The memorial displays stood directly beneath the Rainbow sign in front of the 42nd Infantry Division Headquarters building, where the ceremony was held. Following the ceremony, 42nd Infantry Division Commander Maj. Gen. Joseph Taluto and Task Force Liberty Soldiers filed past the displays to render a final salute.

At the ceremony or on their own, Soldiers remembered Esposito and Allen.

“He was someone who cared about his Soldiers, no matter if you messed up before or not,” Spc. Kale Baldwin said about Esposito. A 10th Mountain Division Soldier assigned to Esposito's company as an assistant mail clerk, Baldwin said Esposito didn't hold past mistakes against Soldiers.

“From day one he treated me with respect,” Baldwin said. “He didn't care if we were attached, assigned, or whatever. He treated us all the same.”

Staff Sgt. Ashvin Thimmaiah, company readiness NCO, said Esposito's greatest accomplishment as company commander was getting his Soldiers trained and deployed.

“He genuinely cared about Soldiers and the mission,” Thimmaiah said.

The division assistant chief of staff for operations, Col. Mario Costagliola, knew Allen as a platoon leader in 1st Battalion, 101st Cavalry, which Costagliola commanded. Allen always took care of his troops, Costagliola said.

“He was always running around, getting stuff for his guys – food, safety equipment and billeting,” Costagliola said. “He never forgot where he came from,” he added, recalling Allen's enlisted service as a military police officer.

Capt. Steven Raiser, a division legal assistance officer, trained with Allen to prepare for the Iraq deployment, and said he got to know Allen very quickly.

“I learned a lot of Soldier skills from him ... how to lead troops, and run a convoy,” Raiser said. “He confirmed all our training.”

“There's some people you meet that you connect with. ‘Al' was one of those people,” he said. “That's why this is painful. After training ended, I knew we'd keep in touch.”

Both Costagliola and Raiser remembered Allen as a joker and a family man. Costagliola said when he asked if Allen wouldn't prefer a job with more action, he replied that as a father of four, he was “perfectly happy being part of HHC.”

Allen was a devoted husband and father, who called his wife every day, Raiser said in his remarks at the memorial ceremony.

“He carried a photo of his four boys in his wallet and would proudly display it to anyone who would look,” Raiser said.

Esposito and Allen were “adamant about coming on the deployment,” said Costagliola.

“They both just fought to be here and be part of this thing,” he said. His first reaction to Esposito's death was revulsion at the entire deployment, Thimmiah said.

“But then I thought, if it was me, if I was in his boots now, Capt. Esposito would drive on,” Thimmiah said. “I feel like he's sitting next to me saying, ‘We started this thing, now finish it.'”

“Both had the desire, the passion and the calling to be leaders,” said Roltsch. “Both died doing what they loved doing, leading and serving Soldiers. No matter what you do or how you process this loss, remember that Louis Allen and Philip Esposito were Rainbow warriors and that makes them our brothers. Today we suffer as one body, because that's what we are. Today we honor as one body because that's what they deserve.”

(Editor's Note: Story b y Staff Sgt. Raymond Drumsta, 42nd Infantry Division PAO)

                                                                 -30-

THIS STORY HAS ACCOMPANYING PHOTOGRAPHS. TO RECEIVE THE PHOTOS, E-MAIL THE CPIC PRESS DESK AT This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text59203 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

CUTLINE:

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DANGER, TIKRIT , Iraq – The memorial displays stood directly beneath the Rainbow sign in front of the 42nd Infantry Division Headquarters building, where the ceremony was held. Each Soldier was represented at the ceremony by empty boots, dog tags, and an inverted rifle with a helmet on top.

-30-

Text for release and opsec review provided by the 42ND Infantry Division Public Affairs Office. For more information, please contact 42 ID PAO at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text76158 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .