CAMP BAHARIA, Iraq -- “Corporal Lutz,” the cry echoes through the damp morning air. “Corporal George Lutz,” again the cry goes out. “Corporal George A. Lutz,” for the third and final time the cry goes out, answered only by silence.
Marines from 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment and Soldiers from 9th Psychological Operations Battalion gathered to pay respect to one of their own, Army Cpl. George A. Lutz. The 25-year-old Chesapeake, Va., native was killed-in-action Dec. 29, 2005 by anti-coalition forces.
Lutz was deployed with Detachment 910, Company A, 9th PysOp Battalion, attached to the Marine battalion for their deployment as part of Regimental Combat Team-8.
“It’s always good to meet someone who has their priorities of life in order,” said Navy Lt. Timothy R. Hall, the battalion chaplain. “There seems to be a peace about them, a pace to their life that doesn’t seem to be forced. They have an air of comfort and purpose. This is the life that we are here today remembering. Cpl. Lutz had the priorities of life in order.
“Let me tell you a little about Cpl. Lutz and you too will see that he is an example that we can all gain a little truth from,” Hall continued. “He is survived by his wife Tiffany and two children, Tony, 3 years old, and Ava, 5 months old. He was an outgoing, friendly man who thought of others before himself. While in college he met his wife and fell in love, left college, married and started a family. The only time I talked to him, he told me about his children and that he was ready to share some chores with Tiffany, to play with little Tony, and even change Ava’s dirty diapers. This is a man who has his priorities in order.”
Lutz’s fellow soldiers who knew him best delivered emotional speeches.
“I’ve known Cpl. Lutz ever since he came to Fort Bragg,” said Army Sgt. Christopher J. Pollitzer. “I was in his (advanced individual training) class, language class and eventually, when he completed his language training, he came to work for me. Over the course of this time, I came to know that he was one person that I could always count on to be the positive guy. When things would get bad, you would always see him with a smile on his face, and he would be there to cheer you up.
“The loss of Cpl. Lutz came as a huge blow to not only my team and our detachment but also to all who knew him, for he was truly a remarkable soldier,” Pollitzer continued. “My interpreter Leon and Cpl. Lutz were talking one day about whether or not he would go to heaven. He simply turned to Leon and said, ‘I am going to heaven. I don’t have to think about that.’ If there is one man on this planet who deserves that, it is Cpl. Lutz. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family, may God watch over them in their time of mourning.”