Spc. Gary Lee Gooch and Spc. Aaron Seth Aamot grew up in opposite ends of America. Gooch was raised in Florida, while Aamot was raised in the town of Custer in the northwest corner of Washington.

Their lives were intertwined when they were both assigned to the same platoon of the Fort Lewis-based 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, which headed off to war in Afghanistan in July.

On Nov. 5, Gooch and Aamot, both 22 years old, died together as their Stryker vehicle was struck by a huge roadside bomb in the Arghandab Valley of southern Afghanistan.

On Thursday, the young men were remembered at a memorial service at Fort Lewis that was attended by dozens of family, friends and fellow soldiers. Gooch had a keen sense of humor, and urged his friends not to take life too seriously. Aamot was a devout Christian, who was fascinated by the history of the U.S. civil war.

At the end of the memorial service, Aaron's father, Mark Aamot, recalled the outpouring of support in his northwest Washington community during his son's final journey home.

"I wish you could have seen all the thousands, many, many thousands of people who lined the roads and overpasses," Mark Aamot said. "I have lived here all my life, and it just overwhelmed me."

Aamot and Gooch were part of a platoon that has suffered some of the highest losses of any unit in Afghanistan. Typically, an Army infantry platoon at full strength may number from 35 to more than 40 soldiers. Charlie Company, 2nd Platoon has lost 11 soldiers since deploying to Afghanistan this summer as part of the brigade's 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment.

This platoon's biggest blow came on Oct. 27, when a roadside bomb ripped through a Stryker vehicle, and killed seven soldiers and an Afghan interpreter.

The Nov. 5 mission was supposed to be a routine resupply mission. But the unit was still on high alert for roadside bombs, according to 1st Lt. Brian Giroux, who survived the blast and was then evacuated to Fort Lewis suffering from broken bones in both of his legs.

"We thought we did everything right. We cleared the route and had guys on the ground checking for command wire (that detonates a bomb) and everything like that," said Giroux, in an interview after the memorial service. "The only down side is that the terrain over there is so rough that there is often only one route in and one route out of a lot of places, and that goes against a lot of your tactical training."

Giroux said that at the time of the blast he had his head out of the Stryker's command hatch. He believed he was thrown clear of the vehicle. He blacked out, and when he regained consciousness his legs were pinned under the vehicle, which was on fire. As insurgents attacked with small arms fire, several other members of the platoon were able to free Giroux.

"I can't express enough the gratitude I have to my guys for coming up and pulling me out," Giroux said. "They saved my life."

The Charlie Company, 2nd Platoon now has a new lieutenant to replace Jiroux, and is getting more soldiers to fill out its depleted ranks.
. The platoon will serve in Afghanistan until next summer, patrolling in an area of southern Afghanistan that is viewed as a key corridor for insurgents seeking to move into Kandahar City.

In remarks read at Thursday's memorial service, 1st Battalion commander, Lt. Col. Jon Neumann, made clear that Charlie Company and the rest of the soldiers in his unit were not about to hunker down and play it safe.

Lt. Col. Jon Neumann

"It is our mission to go out and directly engage the enemy that is threatening Kandahar City," Neumann said. "It is Charlie Company's mission to put a patrol base right in the enemy's comfort zone, and disrupt his plans, and to keep an area that is war torn as safe as it possibly can.

" Charlie Company needs to understand that it is their duty, not the next unit's duty, or even the next generation's responsbility, to take the fight to the enemies of our nation. And unfortunately, in some circumstances, you all understand, that duty comes at a cost."

. Spc. Aaron Seth Aamot, of Custer, Wa.

Spc. Gary Lee Gooch, of Ocala, Fl.