Hawaii Five-0 s09e04 Episode Script

1 (machine whirring) (hair drier blowing) Man, I thought you Navy boys were early risers.
Figured there was no chance I'd get the first shower.
Yeah, I didn't sleep too well.
Oh? It wasn't my sleep apnea machine, was it? No, man.
It's probably just jet lag.
Maybe you're nervous about today? Yup.
Maybe that.
Well, we better get a move on.
We got to be there in an hour.
You know, you should wear that out.
The ladies would be all over you.
I do pretty good in my civvies.
Thanks for your help.
Ties aren't really my jam.
There you go.
All squared away.
This look all right? I want to make sure I'm dressed appropriately.
You look great, man.
Thanks, man.
Good morning, ma'am.
S.
O.
2 Junior Reigns.
I'm here to bring Staff Sergeant Christopher Kaliko, Air Force Combat Controller, back home to O'ahu.
Lieutenant Colonel Bailey, Joint Mortuary Affairs.
Nice to meet you.
Is this your first time serving as an escort officer for a dignified transfer? - Yes, ma'am.
- All right, then.
A few things you should know.
You will remain with this airman at all times.
You will render honors whenever the casket is loaded or unloaded.
- Yes, ma'am.
These are Staff Sergeant Kaliko's personal effects.
They must remain with you at all times.
Thank you.
That file has any pertinent information you might need, including the address of the funeral home.
JUNIOR: Wow.
Staff sergeant at the age of 24.
Bronze Star with valor on his first deployment? That's impressive.
Noticed that, too.
Graduated top of his class.
Must've been a natural leader.
Is he family? I'd like to pay my respects.
Uh, no, ma'am.
This is Jerry Ortega.
He's my colleague on the Five-O Task Force.
He just wanted to accompany me to honor a friend of his who died in combat.
That's a nice gesture.
Ma'am, since neither of us knew Staff Sergeant Kaliko, I was just wondering why he specifically requested for me to bring him home.
I don't know, Petty Officer Reigns, but my best guess is it's because you're from the same home town.
Makes sense.
Looks like they're ready.
Detail.
Halt.
Present arms.
Forward march.
Order arms.
Godspeed, sailor.
(siren wailing) [Hawaii Five-O theme song plays.]
Hawaii Five-O 9x04 A'ohe Kio Pohaku Nalo i Ke Alo Pali font color (laughing) Higher.
You want higher? Yeah.
Okay, let's see what we can do.
How's that, huh? Hon, someone's here to see you.
Akela, look who it is.
Uncle Steve! What's up? You're enormous.
What have they been feeding you? Malasadas.
Malasadas? Shh! That's our secret.
Okay.
I'll tell you what.
Your secret's safe with me if you let me borrow Grandpa for a minute.
Is that okay? Yeah, that's fine.
Okay.
Hey, can we, uh, can we chat for a sec? (chuckles) Sure.
I think you know why I'm here.
I think I have an idea.
Look, your reinstatement hearing is tomorrow.
I just want to make sure you got everything you need.
Make sure you're prepped and good to go.
Actually, Steve, I've, um, decided not to go.
Wait.
W-What are you talking about? Why not? Being away from the job has given me time to think.
Retirement may not be such a bad idea.
I-I get to be with my family more.
I get to watch Akela grow up.
I've I've had a good run.
I'm ready for the next chapter.
So you're gonna let them force you out? Is that right? Steve, you think I'm a good cop? Yes, Duke.
I think you're a good cop.
That's right, and so does everyone else in my life that matters: my wife, my daughter, the men and women I served alongside.
They understand why I did what I did.
If you're gonna tell me that you've had enough of the job, you want to retire and spend some more time with your family, that's fine, no problem.
But this is your reputation.
This is your legacy, Duke, which is why you got to get in there tomorrow, you got to fight and you got to clear your name.
If, after that, you still want to retire, have at it.
At least you get to go out on your own terms.
You're still young.
Your first instinct is always to fight.
But at some point in time you have to ask yourself what are you fighting for? I'm at peace with this decision.
(cell phone rings) McGarrett.
Yeah, I'll be right there.
Thanks.
Yo.
Well, here's the rundown.
About 9:30 this morning, HPD spots a truck with no plates, so they light him up, driver takes off.
Might've been the shortest police chase in history except for the truck dumped its contents.
Was that how we ended up with a beach in the middle of the roadway? That and a body to boot.
STEVE: TANI, what do we know? Wrists are bound, so it's clearly a homicide.
No ID yet, which is not surprising because his face is half eaten off.
His hands are a mess and he's got no feet.
No identifiable body parts.
You know what we used to call that back in Chicago? Mr.
Potato Head.
- Good technical term.
- What are we thinking? Cops come along and interrupt a, uh, body dump in progress? Well, I mean, the driver of the truck probably didn't know there was a body in the back there.
Well, why were they driving around with no plates trying to escape the cops? The sand, it's probably stolen.
(laughs) Get out of here.
Oh, you for real.
Yes, I'm for real.
Black market sand mining.
It's-it's a huge business worldwide.
I'm talking billions of dollars and O'ahu has a lot of product.
Well, unless you building a golf course, what is the big draw with sand? Beach replenishment.
M-Most of all, they use it to make concrete.
Oh, well, if Waikiki is any indication, construction sure isn't slowing down any time soon.
TANI: I've actually seen those boats, the dredging boats, when I'm out surfing.
They anchor in really shallow waters and then they suck up sand for hours.
Yeah, the dredgers are legal.
Surplus sand they sell on the black market, not so much.
Poor Mr.
Potato Head.
Here you are at the bottom of the ocean, minding your own business, bothering nobody, along comes some sand dredger and starts sucking up sand and (slurps loudly) Accidentally sucks up a body.
Yeah.
So where's our crime scene? Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.
As we all know, no plan survives contact with the enemy.
There's a million ways this op could go sideways, which is why I need you to take a couple minutes here to put your affairs in order.
It'll keep your focus where it needs to be, on the mission.
I understand, sir, but asking someone to escort my body home, that's a big burden to put on them.
It's not a burden.
It's an honor.
People are stronger than you think, son.
Wow.
Just having to think about something like that must've been super intense.
It's part of the job.
How'd he die? Well, according to the incident report, the special ops team he was attached to was conducting a night raid in Afghanistan and their helo was shot down by an RPG.
But that's not what killed him.
When the Blackhawk went down, he and his unit took fire from insurgents, and he and another officer held them off.
They're the only two that didn't make it.
If that isn't the definition of bravery, I don't know what is.
No doubt.
I'm honored to be taking this man home.
I just wish I knew why he chose me.
If you don't mind my asking, who did you choose? You know, to escort you back? My cousin.
He's a Marine.
Right on.
(chuckles) Here's a fun fact: back in '42, the U.
S.
developed the first top secret jet engine fighter, the P-59 Airacomet.
But, since propeller-less planes weren't really a thing back then, it was pretty conspicuous on test runs.
So get this, the pilot wore a gorilla suit and a derby hat, and he waved a stogie at any other pilots that he came across.
Why? Because if anyone saw him, they would just think that they were hallucinating.
(laughs) And the secret of the first jet engine fighter is kept under wraps.
How crazy is that? That is pretty crazy, Jerry.
Hey, I'm gonna try and catch some Zs.
Oh, yeah, sure.
The jetlag, right? Yeah.
Do you want the good news or the bad news first? Well, we've had quite the run of bad news today, so I say let's keep that coming.
Well, as you know, our victim didn't leave us with a lot to work with.
I wasn't able to pull prints or run dental records.
Of course there's DNA, but, alas, no matches in the system.
Okay, I think I'm ready for the good news.
I did notice something interesting about his missing feet.
Take a look at this.
You see these striation marks on the victim's shins? That tells me that his feet were ripped off, not eaten by marine life.
Something heavy was weighing this body down, so when the sand dredger sucked it up, sadly, the feet didn't come along for the ride.
Well, you're right, that is interesting, but tell me how that constitutes good news.
Because I found something in the left tibia that could be useful for an ID.
This is our victim's lower leg.
All right, so check this out, Noelani found a small surgical cavity in the victim's left shin.
She believes it's there as a result of an orthopedic pin that was anchored to the ankle.
Now, this is what the victim's leg would've looked like before the sand dredger got to him.
All right, you see the surgical pin there connecting the fibula to the ankle bone? Great, so assuming that pin is still there, we remove it and run the serial number.
Cross reference that against hospital records, I think we'll have an excellent chance of narrowing down an ID.
DANNY: Just so I'm clear, we're talking about finding a pair of feet at the bottom of the ocean, right? Yes.
I guess you can say the game is afoot.
You could say that if you want to make a bad joke, sure.
Why do you hate puns? STEVE: Okay, look, first things first.
We need to find the driver of that dump truck.
If we can find out exactly where that sand was dredged, maybe we have at chance of finding these weighted-down feet.
TANI: Well, not quite, because the driver got away and there was no plates on the truck.
Then we're gonna have to find somebody who knows who the players are in the sand game.
Yeah, I, uh, think we might know somebody.
DANNY: I'm not trying to be combative here.
I'm just giving you my opinion.
Okay, well, in this case, your opinion's wrong, all right? Duke has has got to go to that hearing tomorrow.
Why? Why does he got to go? If he doesn't go, does he lose his pension? No, he doesn't.
He keeps his pension either way.
Okay, so then, so then why go? Why go? You don't go, y-y-you get to keep your money, you go play Barbies with your granddaughter for the rest of your life.
What's the problem? What's the problem? I'll tell you what the problem is, he doesn't get to be a cop anymore.
Danny, you understand that? Not to mention, he doesn't get to clear his name.
Okay, let's say he goes, and it doesn't go the way he wants it to go.
He doesn't get to clear his name, he doesn't get to be a cop anymore, his name gets dragged through the mud.
I wouldn't go, either.
Oh, please.
You would never pass up the opportunity to talk.
You know what? You'd go defend yourself.
The judge would rule in favor just to get you to shut up and-and beat it.
DANNY: Never get high on your own supply, babe, you ever heard of that? Been on my feet seven straight hours.
You think I'm gonna walk somewhere else to eat? Speaking of which, if you're here for the scampi special, you're out of luck.
This is the last one.
No, not here for the special.
We're here on business.
Well, here's a business tip for you two new restaurant owners.
Don't ever, ever bother a food service professional after his lunch rush hour.
Sorry for the intrusion.
We were just wondering if you, uh, happen to know anybody who moves black market sand? Why do you assume that I know every criminal enterprise on this island? Is that a real question? I might know one guy who used to move in that circle.
- Shocking.
- Could you maybe put us in contact? - I'll make a call.
- Okay, thank you.
We appreciate it.
Anything for you, brother.
You guys don't have to hang around.
I'll get in touch after I call the guy.
No, it's okay.
We'll stay here.
You gonna make the call or what? Oh, you mean now? Yes, now, please.
Flippa! What's up? So I'm flying down Pali with 20 tons of Waimanalo's finest in the back of my truck and 15 minutes till the boat leaves the dock.
I got a huge client in Dubai, building one of those fancy skyscrapers, but why would Dubai need imported sand, you might ask? Here's the thing, desert sand's no good for making concrete.
It's pure silica, too fine.
- This is riveting.
You were the Scarface of sand, I get it, but can you bottom line us, get to the point? Word is, when I got out of the game, a couple haoles took over.
Okay.
Any chance you can put us in touch with said haoles? Hey! Police! Hey, hey, hey! Hey, don't.
Those blades will cut you to pieces.
Danny, if he dies, I got two bodies and no leads.
Well, if you die, I got three bodies and no partner.
You see? No, no, no.
(whirring increases) That sounded terrible.
(coughs, groans) Up, up, up.
Hands behind your back.
You happy? Was it worth it? Huh? You're gonna have, uh, sand in a lot of unpleasant places.
That load of illegal sand you dumped on the 93 this morning, you're gonna tell us exactly where that was dredged from.
(exhales) These chairs don't recline.
- (chuckles) - But look on the bright side, you got plenty of leg room.
I'm not complaining.
I'm just grateful I got to come along.
What you reading? I picked it up at the airport.
Did you know Detective Williams's former mother-in-law is, like, a super successful author? This one even made The Times best-seller list.
What's it about? Uh, it's about a restaurant publicist in Seattle, who breaks off her engagement to travel through Europe, where she meets this count who invites her to his castle.
And now that I'm saying it out loud, it's pretty stupid.
(laughs) I bought it to just keep my mind occupied.
Well, I'll tell you the truth, it's not really working.
You want to talk about it? All right, man.
Look, anyone you ask can tell you where they were on 9/11.
For me, it was my mom's basement.
My friend Mika called me, told me to turn on the TV.
I must've watched the news for 72 hours straight.
I felt so helpless.
I think I was just desperate to do something that would make a difference somehow.
I think most people felt that way.
Yeah, well, Mika and I got to talking, and eventually what we came up with was the best thing to do would be to enlist, but when I was at my recruitment meeting, something happened.
My chest got tight, I was short of breath.
I thought I was having a heart attack.
It got so bad they called an ambulance.
Turns out it was a panic attack.
The recruiter called me the next day to check on me, and I had to tell him the truth.
I felt so ashamed.
He was understanding, but blunt.
He, uh, told me the service wasn't for me.
It's true.
The service isn't for everyone, but there's no shame in that.
Yeah, well, anyway, that's why I wanted to come along.
I thought, in some small way, this could make up for not having what it takes to enlist.
Jerry, there's a lot of different ways to be a hero, and I've-I've seen you do a lot of brave things.
I'll tell you what, man, you sitting right here, opening up like that and sharing that with me? That's brave.
Thanks, man.
That means a lot.
Hey, you know your buddy that you went and volunteered with? Mika? Was he the one that was killed in combat? STEVE: All right, Danny, this is where the GPS says the, uh, dredger dropped anchor.
We should do the same, please.
Do me a favor, give me a hand with this, will you? Oh, the-the foot detector.
Trusty foot detector.
Oh, yeah? You know what, you laugh all you want, but this thing has pretty sweet imaging, and it's simple enough for a monkey to operate, which is great news, 'cause that's what you're doing today.
Oh.
All right.
(strains): Oh, wow, it's very heavy.
Yeah.
Hope I don't drop it on your foot.
All right.
You ready? One, two, three, go.
All right, Danny, check this out.
It's pretty simple stuff.
This screen shows you a live underwater feed.
We're looking for, uh, you know.
- Feet.
I know what we're looking for.
- Yeah.
Feet.
There it is.
The foot.
The hoof.
So you want to talk about that thing? What? Duke thing.
No, I don't want to talk about the Duke thing, 'cause there is no Duke thing.
The conversation's over.
- Okay? - Right.
All right.
I think we got something.
Come here.
This look like feet to you? It's worth a closer look.
All right, raise your right hand if you can hear me.
Good.
You know, I-I just, uh, had a thought.
I think we should, uh, discuss this Duke thing right now, because you can't talk back.
My opinion is that, uh, you are putting yourself in his shoes, which you should never do.
Uh, he, uh, he is not you.
You're making this about you, and it's not.
It's about him.
And you're you also just went, you went past it, like, 20 yards.
Go back, to your five o'clock, 20 yards.
The-the point that I'm trying to make is that Duke is a grown man.
Okay? And he can make his own decisions.
All right? Not everybody wants to be fighting crime out of a wheelchair, you know? There's something to be said for knowing when your time is up and not fighting it anymore.
Okay, mission accomplished.
Now grab those feet, and let's get out of here.
Oh, one more thing.
The designer for the restaurant told me that you don't think that I should be involved in the menu design, which is hurtful, and, uh, insane, because I am good at that kind of stuff.
Uh, I would like to be a part of picking the typeface, not the font.
Okay? It is not called the font.
It's called the typeface.
I know that, I'm pretty sure you do not know that, which is another reason why I should be involved in this, in this, uh, design process.
So what, big mouth, you got something to say? Yeah, I got something to say.
I do.
I chose the Tarantella.
Okay? Because the designer said that it was an elegant font for an Italian menu.
Typeface, not a font.
And I disagree.
We got the feet.
Let's go.
Oh, oh, oh, Danny.
Yeah, they don't really look like the feet of a six-foot male.
That's 'cause they're women's feet.
You know what this means, right? We got a double homicide.
Ready to get going? My cousin wasn't the first person I asked.
To escort my body if something ever happened to me.
I wanted it to be my dad.
But when I asked him, he said no.
Well, it was probably just too hard for him to imagine doing something like that.
He never wanted me to serve.
Actually, he made a point of saying if I was ever killed over there, he wouldn't even be at my funeral.
People can say some hurtful things when they're upset.
I'm sure he was just afraid of losing you.
He kind of already lost me at that point, you know? After I enlisted, our relationship was never the same.
You're both still here, aren't you? It's never too late to make things right.
All right.
That's all the feet we got? We don't need more feet? No, no, no, this is it.
You're just gonna dig in there like a, like an animal? Disgusting.
Just getting all in there, huh? Winner, winner, chicken dinner.
One surgical pin.
Only you could refer to food after doing what you just did.
Let's shoot it, come on.
See that number? Yeah.
We ran the serial number on that surgical pin, and we got a hit.
Our Mr.
Potato Head is Kaimi Alana, 34 years old, no criminal record.
STEVE: We're gonna send this evidence back to the lab.
Hopefully, they can pull some DNA on our female Vic, get an ID, but in the meantime, get HPD and CSU down to that sand processing facility, all right? Make sure they take the dogs.
If both of these bodies were sucked up by the same sand dredger, it's possible her body is still there, buried under a pile of sand.
Okay, we'll look into Mr.
Alana.
Let's see what we can find.
Come on.
Hmm.
Looks like two, three weeks' worth of mail to me.
(sighs) Looks like Mr.
Alana lived alone.
Explains why no one reported him missing.
Yeah.
Let's do a sweep.
Why don't you start in here? I'll check the other rooms.
TANI, come in here a second, would you? Nothing of mention in the first room, but in here, he got a whole closet full of women's clothing.
He got hats and jewelry here, and in that bathroom, there's a pile of makeup and your garden variety of your ladies' lotions and potions.
Doesn't seem like much of anything belong to Mr.
Alana here.
Maybe he was subletting to a woman.
Right, but it's only his name on all the mail.
Right.
Look at this.
Hold on.
So this looks like an old graduation photo.
But now, look at the more recent photos.
Wait a second.
- It's both the same person.
- Mm-hmm.
Okay, looks like our Vic was transgender.
Well, not transgender, but mahu.
Mahu? What's that? In traditional Hawaiian culture, mahu are people who identify with both male and female spirits.
Gender is fluid.
So whatever that means to you, that's cool with us.
In this case, it looks like our Vic presented as traditionally female.
- Well, the fact that she was mahu probably doesn't have anything to do with why she was murdered, but, um what if it did? Kaimi and I have taught dance together here for about uh, three years now.
When was the last time you were in contact with her? Couple weeks ago.
Uh, at the recital.
And she hadn't returned to work since? Uh, no, the school shuts down for a few weeks after the fall recital.
I'm just here doing some bookkeeping.
Um Kaimi mentioned wanting to take a vacation.
I just thought that's where she was.
Was she on the outs with anyone? I mean, in her personal life or even here at the studio? No, uh, Kaimi didn't have any drama.
The students and parents, they loved her.
Everyone's gonna be devastated.
Malie, I'm sorry, but we are going to have to consider the possibility of this being a hate crime, so are you aware of anyone who may have possibly had some sort of a problem with Kaimi or her lifestyle? It's not a lifestyle.
It's who she was.
I can't speak for Kaimi, but I personally have never experienced any kind of discrimination here in Hawaii.
I did live briefly on the mainland, and the attitude there was definitely different.
But here no one gives us any issues.
Thank you so much for your time, Malie.
And again, we're sorry for your loss.
We'll reach out if we hear anything.
Thank you.
I'm not buying the whole hate crime thing.
I mean, mahu are very respected and revered.
How then do you suppose our victim ended up at the bottom of the ocean? (dog barking) We got something over here.
(cell phone rings) Noelani, what's up? NOELANI: We found the second victim's body.
Okay.
We get an ID? I did and you're never gonna believe this.
Her name is Kaimi Alana.
I'm sorry.
Did you just say that both our victims have exactly the same name? Yes.
What do you think? Some-some wacko's, uh, going after people with that name? Either that or it's a case of mistaken identity.
Right.
All right.
So if a killer makes a mistake, he kills the wrong person and then corrects their mistake.
All right, whatever the case, we need to figure out which one was the intended target.
Prepare yourself for the worst, you know, but it's still a shock.
Can't believe Kaimi's gone.
Yeah.
Uh, listen, we're-we're very sorry for your loss, Mr.
Alana.
Listen, if it's okay with you, we need to ask you a couple of questions.
Yeah, of course.
Anything I can do to help.
DANNY: When you reported your wife missing, you were out of town.
- Right? - That's right.
Right.
That's, uh, that's a little suspect.
- Excuse me? STEVE: Mr.
Alana, do you know Hailey Adams? Yes, of course.
She's my wife's friend.
So, she just recently booked a trip to Bali.
It was a first-class trip, very fancy trip.
And according to the airline, you were supposed to be on that flight with her.
I didn't mean to ruin the surprise.
I hate surprises.
I don't get it.
Why would your recently deceased wife's very close friend book what seems to be a romantic trip for the two of you? I have no idea why Hailey would do something like that.
Okay, uh, no, I'm gonna just ask you flat out: did you arrange to have your wife murdered? - I want a lawyer.
STEVE: Good.
You need a lawyer.
But here's the thing: the deal that you think you're gonna cut, it's too late.
Yeah, this guy already made one.
STEVE: Now, it wasn't too hard to trace the wire transfer that you used to employ Mr.
Contract Killer.
I mean, $2,000, that's-that's what'd you get, a Groupon? STEVE: He rolled on you very quickly as well.
Unfortunately, this guy had to kill an innocent person before he found the right Kaimi Alana.
You see, if he hadn't have messed up, you wouldn't be sitting where you are looking at 20 to life.
DANNY: Look, buddy, you get what you pay for, right? (knocking) (doorbell rings) (barks) STEVE: Okay, Edward, just relax.
(barks, whines) Relax, relax.
Just relax.
It's okay, okay, Eddie.
Hey, Duke.
Can I come in? Good boy.
DUKE: I talked to my daughter earlier.
Couple of days ago, she caught Akela taking money out of her wallet.
That doesn't sound like Akela.
That's what I thought, until she explained why she did it.
It was for a friend in school.
His backpack had fallen apart, and she wanted to get him a new one.
I don't condone stealing, but she did the wrong thing for the right reason.
And that got me thinking about something that you said, about my legacy.
That legacy is gonna be her road map someday when I'm not around.
This all to say, I'm going to my hearing tomorrow.
I'm gonna fight to get my job back.
And if the offer's still open, I'd appreciate you coming with me.
One thousand percent.
(bottles clink) You okay? I know why he chose me.
People underestimate what they're capable of.
I went into the Navy a shy, scrawny 18-year-old kid with no direction and no clue.
And I came out a man.
I learned the value of discipline, hard work and self-respect.
But it's not just about what the service can do for you, it's about what you can do for the people that you care about, and defending our country and the values that we hold dear.
And I'll tell you guys from personal experience there is no greater honor.
(applause) Sir.
My name is Chris Kaliko.
I just wanted you to know that was a really great speech.
(chuckles softly) Thank you, Chris.
I appreciate that.
So what what am I supposed to say to his parents, huh? I encouraged their son to enlist.
If it wasn't for me, Christopher would still be alive today.
You encouraged him to serve his country.
He did that with distinction and died a hero.
(pants) I can't go in there.
You know my friend I told you about, Mika, who I tried to enlist with? Well, what I didn't tell you is I'm the reason he joined up.
I convinced him and when he died, I blamed myself.
I was in such a low, dark place that I didn't leave my mom's basement for months.
I couldn't even bring myself to be at his funeral.
And I was supposed to be a pallbearer.
That mistake will follow me for the rest of my life.
It kept me from honoring my friend's memory.
Which is why I'm here.
Which is why you need to face his parents.
You need to finish what you came here to do.
(door alarm dinging) (door closes) (birds singing) Mr.
and Mrs.
Kaliko.
Special Operator Second Class Junior Reigns.
I had the honor of escorting your son back home to Oahu.
I'm so sorry for your loss.
These are his personal effects.
Thank you for bringing our boy home.
It was my honor, sir.
And I want you both to know that during his journey home, your son was treated with dignity and respect.
Chris wrote this for you.
He wanted it delivered to you if anything happened to him.
(softly): Thank you, ma'am.
Mr.
and Mrs.
Kaliko, I'm so sorry for your loss.
We're getting ready to proceed with the service so if I can ask you to step outside KALIKO: To Petty Officer Second Class Junior Reigns, If you're reading this, it means things didn't go my way.
But I want you to know that the day you came to talk to my school was the day I found my life's purpose.
I enlisted in the Air Force and became a combat controller.
I was so proud to put on the maroon beret.
I needed to write and tell you about my proudest moment.
My unit was attached to Task Force 210 in the Siagard district of Parwan Province.
We were working alongside Afghan forces to take back an area under Taliban control.
When the last insurgent was gone, I'll never forget the look on the villagers' faces.
I don't speak Pashto, but I still understood how grateful they were.
On that day, nothing mattered more than giving them back their home.
My team did that.
I know everyone's grieving right now, and that's understandable, but on this sad day, please remember to celebrate my life, and all the good I did.
Serving my country was the greatest privilege of my life.