Retired colonel honors life of Spalding native Chris Pfeifer

Retired Army Colonel Chris Kolenda is renewing a special bond with fallen soldiers once under his command in Afghanistan.
He started that process on Sunday, Sept. 25, by visiting the gravesite of PFC Chris Pfeifer at St. Michael’s Cemetery in Spalding.
That was his first stop on a 1,700-mile Fallen Heroes Honor Bicycle Ride to honor the legacies of six paratroopers from his military unit (1-91 CAV, 173rd Airborne), also known as Task Force SABER, who were killed in action while serving in Afghanistan in 2007.
Pfeifer joined Kolenda’s 1-91 Cavalry unit in Schweinfurt, Germany, and deployed with the unit to Afghanistan, serving at Combat Outpost Keating. There, he was shot in a firefight in 2007, and died of his wounds at an Army hospital in San Antonio, TX, on Sept. 25, 2007.
At the afternoon service last Saturday, Kolenda gave remarks about Pfeifer’s life and service
The Spalding visit by Kolenda came on the days before the 15th anniversary of Pfeifer’s passing.
Complete story in the Sept. 28 Albion News/Boone Co. Tribune, print and e-edition.