Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians are specially trained to deal with disarming and disposing of high explosive devices and other types of ordnance, including nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. National EOD Day (The first Saturday in May) was created to recognize EOD professionals and the work they do to protect people from harm.

Before there was a National EOD Day (Established 2015), there was the EOD memorial. The first weekend in May, the Destin / Ft Walton Beach, FL area comes alive with Techs past, present, and those hoping to earn their badge who currently attend the school on Eglin Air Force Base. If you disarm bombs for a living, you try your best to live the good life right up till you turn into the pink mist, so it’s a helluva party down there. Every year there seems to be something new added, but there are a few long standing events that most attend.

Friday night there’s a charity auction for the EOD Warrior Foundation. Saturday morning is the memorial ceremony during which all Techs killed in the performance of their duties are honored and any that have been lost the year prior have their names added to the memorial wall.

This year they postponed putting the names on the wall until the friends, families, and teammates of the fallen can be present. Normally, Saturday night is the EOD ball and everyone gets dressed up for another night of remembrance- it’s both somber and wild, progressing from the former to the latter as night fades into dawn and the party moves from ballroom to bar.

The memorial weekend can evoke emotions we’d rather not name; some still mask them with anger. Some go to party, some go to weep; I’ve done both. I’ve seen amazing support poured out on Gold Star families but I’ve also seen some prey upon their vulnerability. In follow-on posts, I will tell the story of a trip I took in 2013 to the memorial, the reasons, and the adventure.

I asked several online groups of current and former EOD Techs what the memorial means to them. I’d like to highlight a few responses:

“My memories are of the Memorial [are] at Indianhead. But the Memorial now at Elgin is very beautiful and allows us to forever remember those who paid the greatest price for us all. If you ever doubt that our ways are written in blood, go read the names. All services, all ranks paid that price for us to learn the right way to do our job. That’s why you get pinned and the same day you pay respect there.”

“I try to celebrate in their honor and memory. Make new memories with fellow techs, while telling stories of fallen techs to keep their memory and legacy alive.”

“The one and only time I’ve gotten to attend was when my husband was added to the wall. The weekend also falls on his birthday so it’s a very difficult time in my house.”

“[The EOD Memorial] opened within me a strand of memories which I had either put away… or intentionally forgotten. In reflection I am seeing how I was able to celebrate every tech-Brother I lost at my side. … I didn’t know I had so many stories.”

Great thanks to Chase Konop, a friend and fellow technician I served with at 2^nd EOD Company on Camp Lejeune; He writes:

“The EOD memorial holds a special place in my heart. The annual event brings with it a flood of emotions and causes me to relive many personal challenges, traumatic experiences and close calls.

Prior to 2011, I didn’t pay much attention to the memorial. I had participated as a student in 2007, but never made an effort to attend one as an EOD Tech.  In 2011 EJ Pate died from blast injuries sustained during operations in Afghanistan. I was on the next rotation and volunteered to be a casket barer for his return to US soil. We escorted him, along with the Patriot Guard and local law enforcement to his home town for the funeral services.  During the subsequent days and nights, I, along with EJ’s wife and the other bearers, shared experiences that will never leave the funeral parlor. I carry those memories and remember them every 4th of July holiday and EOD Memorial.  He is the first, and only brother I have physically buried. 

After executing orders to the EOD school house, I volunteered to assist with every EOD Memorial in one way or another.  Most memorably, I had the honor to act as the personal escort for a fallen Marine EOD Tech’s mother.  Being there for her and sharing her pain throughout the memorial week was one of the most physically and emotionally taxing things I have done.  I reflect every year on the pain bore by those family members who are new to the memorial family, and those that are reliving the pain year after year. It makes me proud to know that no matter the service or circumstance that this nation’s EOD Techs come together to honor our fallen brothers from the past and support their families.

Finally, it offers me the opportunity to reflect on my personal close calls. Those actions that could have put my name on that wall.  During operations, while concerning yourself with the Marine to your left and right, I have conducted EOD operations that I should have avoided.  “Why the hell did I do anything with that IED? It wasn’t endangering our patrol.”  “Idiot, you pulled too hard and ripped the switch off and left exposed wire tips.”  “Holy shit man, we just hit an IED.” [low ordered under my MRAP tire followed by high-fives and shit talking in the truck]

The EOD memorial is everything that is right with our nation, our military and the EOD community. We celebrate those who gave it all. We honor their families for their sacrifice. We come together to mourn, reflect, cry, laugh and overindulge.  We put everything on hold for weeks to plan, coordinate and execute the ceremony that takes less than an hour and is held on an obscure road at a small wall. People travel from across the globe to take part. High ranking officials who have never worn the EOD badge come out because they understand the significance.  The outpouring from the local community and businesses is a thing to behold.  If there were an ideal way for a people to behave, it would be the way everyone involved behaves during those weeks before and after the EOD Memorial.”

Below is the embedded live stream of the EOD memorial, 2 May 2020.

Raise your glasses and celebrate the men and women of this occupation. These brave souls that exude professionalism, decorum when necessary, but are ever the realist and smart asses needed to keep us grounded and sane during tense situations.

Initial Success or Total Failure.