 Paratroopers are a breed apart, always have and always will be. It comes with the job. You have to hold yourself to a higher professional standard. You have to run farther, ruck more weight and fight harder than anyone else in the Army. He loved V. Paratrooper. He died doing something he loved. It was just that clear. September 1st, 2005 is the day that changed my family forever. Crazy to think here we are almost 17 years later to the day honoring and remembering First Lieutenant Derek Hines. What was it about Derek that set him apart? Derek had two looks that I remember. Either a smile or a grin. Nothing really ever seemed to faze him. He led from the front. He carried his weight. He got behind the gun. He shared the misery in every way and didn't hide the fact that it sucked for him too. He humanized his leadership in a way that few officers did. He was loved and respected for it. There wasn't a man in battle company that didn't trust his leadership because it wasn't a factor of arbitrary rank but something that he earned. If Derek was here, he'd run with his guys. He would run with Idri and Godoy and Rathvin and McJunkin and Thomas. He'd run with his guys today and he'd make sure that every one of them finished together and he would have tried to win. That's what would have happened had he been here today. It was never about Derek. If we can take that attitude of it is not about us we will make ourselves and those around us succeed. Over the last 17 years his soldiers and his men have continued to keep us a part of the 173rd family just as we are doing here today. May God bless you all. May God bless America in battle hard.