Soldiers from Battle Company, Second Platoon of the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team (SBCT), 2nd Infantry Division from Joint Base Lewis-McChord will always remember March 14, 2007.

March 14 was the day Cpl. Brian "Chevy" Chevalier was killed by a roadside bomb. The day the Soldiers from the platoon lost a comrade. A friend. A brother.

"We all feel very close with March 14th and what happened on that day," said Alex Horton, a former specialist from Chevalier's platoon. "When March rolls around each year, we all start to feel it again."  

Horton said that since Chevalier's death, March 14 has been an important day to commemorate the life of his friend. In 2008, a year after Chevalier died, Soldiers from his platoon gathered together in Tacoma. They picnicked outside of Chevalier's old apartment and went to a Karaoke bar. They talked about their buddy. They shared memories and tears.

But after the first year, many of the Soldiers from Second Platoon left the Army and moved all over the country. They were no longer able to meet as a group. The manner in which they reflected on March 14 had to change, even if their memories were as strong as ever.

"The memory doesn't change over time," said Horton. "But how you reflect and how you involve others usually has to."

Horton said that though Chevalier's old platoon has decentralized, its members still take time out every year on March 14 to remember their friend. Now instead of meeting in person, they call each other over the phone. Social networking sites like Facebook allow the group to share memories in a public space.  Horton also writes about his memories on his blog "Army of Dude."

Though he no longer recognizes March 14 with group picnics and Karaoke nights, he is never alone.

"We still remember Chevy the same way," Horton said. "It's just spread out now."  

Like Horton, many Soldiers find importance in getting together as groups to remember a fallen comrade.  Face-to-face meetings aren't always a possibility, so Soldiers find other ways to meet up and talk. Phone conversations, e-mails and Facebook Chat all help groups stay in touch. Horton said it's a priority of his group to stay connected on March 14 because it is a special day in all of their lives. "The day is just one of those binding events," he said. "It's a time for the group to remember."

Chap. (Lt. Col.) Robert Powers, chief of the Madigan's Healthcare System's Department of Ministry and Pastoral Care, said remembrance is an important tactic in working through the grief surrounding death. Powers explained that talking about loss helps. "If you've worked through your grief, you can better talk about loss," he said. "When you can't talk about loss, that means you're having trouble dealing with it."

Dealing with loss is definitely not easy, Powers said. He said that it's important to find methods for coping with loss and utilize those methods whenever possible. Talking about loss means acknowledging loss happened, which is crucial for the healing process.

"We look for people to work through their grief," he said. "To acknowledge that whatever happened was a bad experience, but over time things will get better."

Powers said that people can heal, but the grief following a loss is never completely gone. "Grief leaves a scar," he said. "You never totally get over loss, but you find ways to work through it ... Life goes on."

And as life has continued, Horton and others from Chevalier's platoon have utilized different ways to get together as a group. Hudson said that Facebook especially has given the platoon a place to congregate. He said that he has sent blasts through Facebook encouraging friends of Chevalier to share their favorite story or memory online.  Facebook is so public and so widespread, he said, that once the posts go up, it feels like they are there for the world to see.

"We set up temporary memorials on Facebook walls," said Hudson. "Everyone put up messages like, ‘Remembering you Chevy,' and ‘Rest in Peace.'"

Connie McDonald, a licensed Tacoma-area counselor who specializes in loss and grief, said she is encouraged by the fact that Horton and others are sharing their memories about Chevalier on Facebook. She, like Powers, believes in the importance of talking as a way of coping with grief. "Sharing has always been a way to process grief," she said. "And the more ways we have out there to share, the better."

McDonald said she imagines that Soldiers gathering together in online forums to talk about a lost comrade will continue to grow more common. Celebrating life, and experiences with a loved one, is an innate method humans have for coping with grief, she said, adding that sharing will become more prevalent as technology continues to advance.

"As we get more sophisticated technology, sharing will continue to increase," she said. "Technology provides us an easy way to share our thoughts and feelings."

Since Chevalier died, Horton's life has changed a lot. No longer an infantryman, he has found work as a Public Affairs Officer for Veteran's Affairs. His "Army of Dude" blog chronicles his time in the Army - including the death of Chevalier - and has helped him find work in a writing-oriented career once he left the Army. Though his life now is much different than it was when Chevalier was alive, Horton said he will never forget the loss of his friend - a loss that is even more noticeable around certain dates.

"Whether it's March 14th, April 8th, Memorial Day or any other day when someone was lost, the intensity comes up," said Horton. "On those days my feelings really bubble up."

And though distance may grow between those who fought alongside Chevalier, Horton said they will always get together to remember their brother.

"I don't see any limitations for us commemorating Chevy as long as we all keep in contact with each other," Horton said.