I was there that night and took a turn talking with fish Kerlee while he was tangled in the logs. He never once said that he was afraid of dying and only was concerned about other people.
My screen is getting blurry thinking about it, that night was truly horrible. The rescue teams wanted to extricate him, but Kerlee insisted on nobody moving him for fear that it would cause the logs to shift and hurt somebody else's chances of rescue.
I think deep down, he knew that he was going to be with the Lord soon and no one could save him, but he did not pause to think about himself.
I was a senior in the Corps and this is one of the freshman from that year that I will forever remember; the other is Chris Heard.
I visited the memorial last year and it all came flooding back to me once I was out there. I wept like a baby for a good 30 minutes or so. I have no shame in mourning the loss of those I knew out there and I have found that it is healthy to mourn regardless of how long ago it was. I kept much of that bottled up for years.
I wish that the pictures published by the newspaper had not been put into print, nothing can take that image away; but that is not how I remember Kerlee, he embodied the spirit of a true warrior, only looking out for his fellow students.
"Those that beat their swords into plowshares are destined to plow for those who do not." - Murphy's Laws of Combat
"When a strong man armed keepeth his palace,his goods are in peace." - Luke 11:21