Fallen soldiers' names added to Special Ops memorial

Fort Bragg, N.C. — The names of 32 special operations soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan during the past year were added to a memorial wall at Fort Bragg on Wednesday.

Scores of fthe fallen soldiers' family members stood in a steady rain and clutched red roses during a dedication ceremony in which each soldier's name was read aloud as "Taps" was played on a bugle and "Amazing Grace" was played on a bagpipe.

"I must tell you up front that the Gold Star families here ... are the most incredibly strong and patriotic body in America," said Lt. Gen. Robert W. Wagner, commander of U.S. Army Special Operations.

First Sgt. Michael J. Tulley was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq Aug. 23. His mother and stepfather, Delores and Art Newman, said the ceremony was bittersweet.

"It's a wonderful thing to see his name there, but it's also very hard. For me, this is my closure," Delores Newman said. "He was one of those kinds of boys who would get everybody motivated."

"(It's) powerful. ... The energy from the wall, it's incredible," Art Newman said, choking back tears.

The Army Special Operations Memorial Wall has 813 names of soldiers killed since the Vietnam War. Special Operations has lost 162 soldiers since 2001.