Ashley, soldiers, deserve to be remembered

Three years ago my friend Ashley was killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq. She was 23. She was a soldier and a University of Georgia ROTC graduate.

You may remember her story, which ran in most of the state's newspapers. Brian Huff, a regular contributor here, was her husband.

Ashley was buried in Oconee Hill Cemetery across from Sanford Stadium. I'm told you can hear the crowd noise there on gameday.

A ceremony in Ashley's honor is planned Friday at 2 p.m. at the University Chapel on North Campus. After that, the University ROTC program will dedicate a plaque in her honor in the newly renovated ROTC lounge on campus.

They based the plaque on one of the more iconic pictures Ashley sent home from Iraq. It shows her smiling with a little Iraqi girl.

But, then, all the pictures showed her smiling.

The plaque is not the world's only monument to Ashley. When the Iraqi government opened a new police academy in Erbil, a bust of Ashley was placed outside.



The Inscription reads:

Operation Iraqi Freedom
First Lieutenant Ashley L. Henderson Huff, USA
19 December 1982 – 19 September 2006
Friend of Kurdistan
Advocate of Irbil Police Academy
Died in the Defense of Freedom
Remembered always with fondness

I know not everyone can be on campus Friday afternoon. But, if you would, will you think of my friend Ashley this weekend? And of her family and of Huff, and all the soldiers and families out there.

So many never make it home.

And if you do happen to be near campus Friday, the University's ROTC liaison assures me the ceremony is open to the public. The online guestbook from Ashley's funeral is still up as well. All 68 pages of it.











1st Lt. Ashley Laine Henderson Huff with Iraqi police trainees.


Update: After some contemplation, I've decided the looks on those guys faces translate to "Wow." Agreed, gentlemen. Ashley, may you rest in grace and peace, and may the Iraqi people flourish.