Non-Witness Narrative by (do not publish name) on 2009-06-11 (okay to publish): I work for the U.S. Army at Fort Knox, KY and occasionally receive safety-related e-mail messages. I’ve cut and pasted below a message that I received today about an Army soldier who died in a rafting accident. I have no information beyond what is contained in the e-mail message below. The message refers to the victim as a PFC. That is his rank–private first class. TEXT ATTACHMENTS RIVER RAFTING ACCIDENT CLAIMS ONE SOLDIER’S LIFE The body of a 4th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Washington, Soldier was recovered on 2 June 2009. The 23-year-old PFC had been missing since a river rafting accident that occurred on 17 May 2009 at approximately 1800 local in Thurston County, Washington. The Soldier had been river rafting with three other friends in a privately owned raft when it capsized after hitting an underwater obstruction. All were able to make it to shore except for the PFC. The Soldier was not wearing a life preserver even though one was available. . Life preservers are designed for freedom of movement and should be worn at all times to mitigate the risk while river rafting. Fort Lewis is a long way from Fort Knox, but we have water fun here, too. Many boaters believe themselves to be good swimmers and exempt from the requirement to wear life preservers, but below is a good example of why one should always wear a preserver. Almost one year ago, a Fort Knox Soldier drowned in the Salt River while not wearing a life preserver. Don’t let yourself, your family, or your buddy become another number in the statistics column. V/R, R. Keith Lane Director of Safety The Armor Center and Fort Knox Bldg 1109C, Rm 229 Ft. Knox, KY 40121 Office – (502) 624-4920