Rest in Peace Sgt. 1st Class Merideth Howard!

By Kim Barker and James Janega
Chicago Tribune
Posted September 26 2006, 7:21 AM EDT

MEHTARLAM, Afghanistan _ The older soldiers called themselves the Gray Brigade, but Sgt. 1st Class Merideth Howard never talked about her age. Soon, no one asked.

In training, the Waukesha, Wis., resident ran as hard as men much younger. She became a gunner on a Humvee at this small military base, building a wooden box to stand on so she could see over the turret.

Her last night here, Howard and Staff Sgt. Robert Paul sat on the back stoop of their barracks with the base cook, as usual.

“We started talking about the time she got shot at,” said Air Force Tech. Sgt. Marlin McDaniel, 42, the cook. “I said I’d probably duck. I wouldn’t know what to do. But they both basically said at the same time, `When it’s your time to go, it’s your time to go.”’

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