Kraig M. K. Vickers was a Senior Chief Explosive Ordinance Disposal Technician. He was born on Kailua, Oahu on August 11th 1974. He graduated from Maui High School in 1992, the same school I would graduate from 4 years later. He enlisted in the Navy in 1996 and nine years after enrolling he started training with the Naval Special Ware Development Group. This group completed a number of deployment to support the Global War on Terrorism.
On August 6th, 2011 the Chinook Helicopter that Kraig and his team was on was shot down. 38 people were killed including 22 Navy Seals and Naval Special Forces. This incident is considered the greatest loss of Military soldiers in the Afghanistan Conflict.
Kriag's brother Mark reached out to us to help put on a Honor Run for him. We have helped out every year with logistics, race course, and helping t-shirt design. Even though I never meet Kraig it is an honor to work in his shadow. His family is strong and filled with the aloha spirit. Stories of this local boy make him larger then life, a modern day superhero. There are many scary things in life, but taking apart bombs is off the scale.
I am not a fan of War, however, the loss of such an amazing person that is so close to home reminds me of the constant loss of war. Below are some of the art that I created for Mark for awards and t-shirt designs. Mark sent me the image above, which I turned into a vector.
Aloha from Hawaii and despite your views on war and conflict give respect and love to those who have lost and been effected. I never met you Kraig but I miss you. Please enjoy the video bellow made by the Americanfallensoldier.com. It made me tear.