By David Pendered

June 16 – An Army Green Beret soldier killed in the controversial 2017 Niger Ambush, and two other fallen soldiers, were honored June 12 through the naming of survey vessels by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Savannah District.

All three soldiers were from Georgia and were killed in action.

Army Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright, 29, a special forces engineer and native of Lyons, died Oct. 4, 2017. His team and Nigerian partners were ambushed while on patrol near Tongo Tongo, Niger, West Africa, by overwhelming forces associated with a wing of ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria—Greater Sahara. Wright suffered multiple gunshot wounds while trying to protect his comrades.

Controversy ensued over responsibility for the mission and its outcome. The US Africa Command conducted an informal investigation, resulting in a heavily redacted, 176-page report that determined the ISIS fighters were armed with mortars, AK-47s, and rocket propelled grenades and their attack tactics, conducted on at least eight trucks and 30 motorcycles, exhibited a “high degree of training.”

Almost two years after his death, Wright was awarded the Silver Star for his valorous action in combat.  A 30-foot survey vessel bears Wright’s name.

Army Sgt. Tyrone Chisholm, 27, a Savannah native, died Nov. 11, 2005 in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Chisholm was serving as a gunner on a M1A2 Abrams tank on a combat patrol of Tal Afar, Iraq when multiple improvised explosive devices detonated near the tank. A 27-foot survey vessel bears Chisholm’s name.

Army Sgt. 1st Class John Beale, 39, of Riverdale, died June 4, 2009, in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Beale was traveling in a convoy in Kapisa Province, in northeastern Afghanistan, and died of wounds suffered from an improvised explosive device and small-arms fire. Beale was posthumously promoted to the rank of Sgt. 1st Class. A 23-foot vessel bears his name.

Beale’s widow, Christal Beale, was the only relative of any of the honorees quoted in a statement issued by the corps: “It makes me feel very honored to be his wife. Seeing the other families come together reminds us that life goes on, and we all do our best to make it through each day. But to have the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers do something like this…. It was beautiful.”

The corps named the ceremonial event, “A Legacy that Floats.” The maritime tradition of naming a vessel includes asking a blessing and protection before it begins service. USACE Command Chaplain Col. J.R. Lorenzen provided the invocation and christening. The Groves High School Junior reserve Officer’s Training Corps Color Guard Team presented colors. Chisholm was an alumnus of the school.

Corps Savannah Survey vessel

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