Camp Trotter

Sgt. John Byron Trotter, was killed in Ar Ramadi, Anbar, Iraq on November 9, 2004. Camp Trotter was named after him, in addition to this Honor, He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, among other awards. He was 25 at the time of his death. He had been at the Pentagon and a member of the Honor Guard, the Old Guard at the time of the 911 Attack by Muslim Terrorists.
He is survived by his son Austin, wife Michelle and brothers and sisters, Fred, Frances, Susie, Rick, Alma, his mother Susan predeceased him and after his death he has additional syblings, David, Jasmine born of the union of myself and my second wife Leah, Joshua, Vaglene and Rachel are his adopted syblings, my name is Richard Clayton Trotter, his father.
Trotter was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Howze, Korea.
Trotter was quoted by the Associated Press on September 14, 2001, on his experiences putting bodies into bags at the Pentagon and then onto refrigerator trucks.
"It makes you realize your own mortality," Trotter said.
His brother Fred at Trotter's funeral in San Antonio told how his brother's experiences as a rescuer eventually led him to Iraq after being out of the Army for a year before re-enlisting.
"He pulled horribly burned bodies out of the rubble, and that scarred him," Fred Trotter said. "He went in knowing where he was going. He had a motivation for justice. He wanted to honor the friends he lost on Sept. 11 by going to Iraq."
Sergeant First Class Marshall Harris, who was Trotter's squad leader and later platoon leader for almost three years, remembers him as a likeable jokester but a proud Old Guard Soldier.
Harris and the men of Echo Company entered the Pentagon two to three days after the attack wearing respirators and protective gear to remove bodies.
"We could only stay in for an hour because of the heat," Harris said. "I had been in combat before, but knowing these were comrades and some were friends made it difficult. He was taking it well. It was a strain on all of us."
The Old Guard Soldiers worked retrieving remains then cleaning up rubble. Harris said the men found mostly pieces of bodies close to ground zero.
"I heard from my office one of the former Old Guard Soldiers had been killed," he said. "I asked who, I figured I knew him. Then, I was stunned. It was a shock, we never really thought of losing one of our own."

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu