Spc. Karl Mordorff plants a flag atop Gold Star Peak Thursday, May 27, 2021 in Eklutna. Nearly 300 Paratroopers from the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division hiked to the top of the 4,148-foot summit to honor the 77 paratroopers from the 4-25 who died during deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
Nearly 300 paratroopers from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson hiked up the steep and challenging slope of Gold Star Peak on Thursday, capping off a week of Memorial Day events that included a 17-hour run, a parachute jump and a ceremony at the military base.
Gold Star Peak, near Eklutna Lake, was renamed in 2018 after about two years of work by Kirk Alkire, a veteran who deployed to Iraq in 2006 with the JBER-based 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division. Fifty-three of his fellow soldiers died during the fighting there.
Kirk Alkire, president of Gold Star Peak, Inc., stands next to a monument at the top of the mountain on Thursday. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
On Thursday, Alkire greeted soldiers as they arrived at the 4,148-foot summit, carrying with them 77 photos — one for each of the fallen paratroopers from the 4-25 who died in Iraq and Afghanistan. During a brief ceremony where each name was read, Alkire challenged soldiers to live each day with intention.
“I never thought today that it would turn into this,” said Alkire. “Last year we had 170 paratroopers make the journey up here, and this year I’m hearing that we’re probably going to have close to 300 or more that are making the journey today.”
Spc. Nathan Long pours out two beers to honor Cpl. Dustin Donica and Spc. Shawn Murphy, who were both killed in December 2006 during Operation Iraqi Freedom, at the summit of Gold Star Peak on Thursday, May 27, 2021 in Eklutna. "I didn't actually know them," said Spc. Long. "It's just kind of a tradition throughout the military, you crack a beer for your lost friends. Whether you know them or not, they're your brothers, so go ahead and crack a beer." (Loren Holmes / ADN)
Bullets are left at the top of Gold Star Peak on Thursday, May 27, 2021 in Eklutna. "Another important thing that we continue to find up here are bullets," said Kirk Alkire, president of Gold Star Peak, Inc., the non-profit that helps take families of fallen service members up the 4,148-foot peak. "What this represents to us is a veteran that made it to the summit, took his firearm out, and took the bullet out of the chamber that he or she was possibly thinking about using on his or herself. So we like to think that it's making an impact and helping some people." (Loren Holmes / ADN)
Justin Figenser, a paratrooper with the 1-40th Calvary, made the hike last year and wanted to come back again. “I don’t mind the pain,” he said, referring to the steep 2.4-mile hike. “We come out here every year to support the people that we’ve lost within our squadron, and our brigade, and all over really,” he said. “I have friends that have passed, so this is important to me.”
Paratroopers from the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division hike up Gold Star Peak on Thursday. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
“We call these meaningful miles,” brigade chaplain John McDougall said, breathing heavily as he hiked the steep trail through the trees at the base of the mountain. “They’re there for a purpose, to remember our 77 fallen and their families.”
“It reminds us that life isn’t always easy, but we’re not alone. We’ve got our brothers and sisters walking with us, and we’ve got our fallen angels watching over us.”
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Paratroopers from the 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment gather for a group photo atop Gold Star Peak Thursday, May 27, 2021 in Eklutna. Nearly 300 paratroopers from the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division hiked to the top of the 4,148-foot summit to honor the 77 fallen paratroopers from the 4-25. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
Command Sgt. Maj. Alex Kupratty takes in the view of Twin Peaks from the summit of Mount POW/MIA. Kupratty is with the 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, and one of the nearly 300 paratroopers who hiked to the 4,148-foot summit of nearby Gold Star Peak to honor the 77 fallen paratroopers from the 4-25. (Loren Holmes / ADN)
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