Christopher J. Holland

Died: December 17, 2003

Rank: Specialist

Unit: A Battery, 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Armored Division

Branch: U.S. Army

Specialist Christopher J. “Chris” Holland, a 26-year-old Army medic, died December 17, 2003, in Baghdad, Iraq. While on patrol, his unit was ambushed and he was hit by small-arms fire as he tended the wounds of his injured platoon leader. The coura­geous young Soldier was assigned to the A Battery, 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Armored Division and was garrisoned at Smith Barracks, in Baumholder, Germany, supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Family and friends of the fallen hero gathered on December 23, 2003, to celebrate a pre-Christmas mass in honor of their beloved son at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Brunswick, Georgia. Holland later was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia. Every Memorial Day without fail, Holland’s family makes a pilgrimage to his gravesite, where they pray for the repose of his soul.