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MEPS dedicates room to fallen soldier

  • Published
As young men and women enter the military for the first time, they now have a reminder at the Montgomery Military Entrance Processing Station that freedom has a cost.

These new military members now take their initial oath in full view of a portrait of Pfc. Stephen D. Bicknell, a Prattville, Ala. native who was killed in Iraq on Oct. 15, 2006.

On Feb. 20, MEPS dedicated a room in their Gunter station in memory of Private Bicknell who entered the military on Jan. 18, 2006, at that station. Maj. Halima Muhammadwhitehead, the Montgomery MEPS deputy commander, said Private Bicknell was chosen from a list of several names.

She said Private Bicknell was unique because he graduated from Prattville High School in 2005 as an honor student. As a star quarterback on Prattville's football team, he did a semester at the University of West Alabama on a football scholarship before joining the Army.

"He decided he wanted to do more," Major Muhammadwhitehead said. "We picked him because he was the perfect kid. He was the kid next door that everybody loved. He decided that he wanted to protect his country. That's awesome."

Private Bicknell had deployed to Samarra, Iraq in August 2006. He was killed when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee. He was a month away from his 20th birthday. Private Bicknell left behind his wife, Miranda, and a son, Stephen Jr., who was born after his death.

The ceremony Feb. 20 was well-attended by family, friends and Prattville city and school officials, including Prattville Mayor Jim Byard Jr. Family members and officials gave their remarks at the Senior Non-Commissioned Officer Academy auditorium before proceeding to the MEPS where Private Bicknell's portrait was placed in the dedicated room. The procession was accompanied by cheerleaders from Prattville High School and the "Patriot Riders," a veterans' motorcycle organization that honors fallen servicemembers.