COLORADO SPRINGS - This date one month ago, Feb. 23, was a terrible day for Fort Carson.

Three of its soldiers died during a long and brutal firefight in Ramadi, where the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry has been fighting since they arrived in Iraq last November.

On Thursday, nearly 400 troops filed into Soldiers Memorial Chapel to remember Staff Sgt. Joshua R. Hager, 29, a Colorado native; Spc. Rowan D. Walter, 25, an Army medic from Winnetka, Calif.; and Spc. Travis W. Buford, 23, from Galveston, Texas.

Hager, who was born in Denver and grew up in Broomfield, was buried at Fort Logan National Cemetery on March 8.

He was the first of the three soldiers to die in the fighting that day in Ramadi when a roadside bomb detonated near his Humvee, Capt. Frederick Babauta said.

Buford and Walter were killed while rushing to Hager's aid after the explosion, Babauta said.

"Specialist Buford gave his life in an effort to save others. He truly lived the words, 'I will never leave a fallen comrade behind,' " his commander, Capt. James Enos, wrote in a tribute read Thursday.

"When Travis heard a sister unit had casualties, he went to help out, not because he was told to, but because deep down Travis knew it was the right thing to do," Enos wrote.

So did Walter, admiringly nicknamed "Doc" by his fellow soldiers.

Battalion commander Lt. Col. Charles Ferry described Walter's courage in a letter to the congregation, telling how he climbed atop a burning tank and pulled out injured soldiers.

"When I was wounded, he was there," Spc. Vincent Scatinga, who was shot in Ramadi, told the congregation. "And he stayed with me until I boarded the bird (helicopter)."

Hager, the oldest and most experienced of the soldiers, was in the thick of the battle leading his platoon because "he was always taking care of his boys" his mother, Lois Knight, said after the service.

Hager was a rising star in the noncommissioned officer ranks. He'd graduated from the Army's elite Airborne and Ranger schools, then volunteered for Iraq.

Fellow soldiers remembered the fun-loving side of Hager, who was always up to something. They remembered the thin, wiry fellow who referred to his arms as "guns." They also recalled a raft trip just before deploying last fall, where Hager "mooned" a group of senior citizens picnicking on the riverbank.

"We all loved having this character around," Capt. Tom Hanlon wrote. "That is why it is so hard to let go."

Knight also remembered the difficulty of letting go, recalling the day Hager left Fort Carson last October.

"Usually, when I would give him a hug, it was just a little thing. The day he left, he wouldn't let go of me," she said.

"This hug was different. He was worried," she said. "He has a wife and child to take care of, and he was worried."

Fort Carson soldiers killed in Iraq battle

• Staff Sgt. Joshua R. Hager, 29, a Colorado native born in Denver, Spc. Rowan D. Walter, 25, an Army medic from Winnetka, Calif., and Spc. Travis W. Buford, 23, from Galveston, Texas, died on the same day in Iraq. Buford and Walter were killed while rushing to Hager's aid after a roadside bomb exploded in Ramadi.

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