Editor's Note: Living on in the hearts of comrades

Maj. Dominic Oto of the Oregon National Guard had unfinished business when he came home from war. He had been in the same armored vehicle as de Solenni, part of a convoy heading to Kandahar on Sept. 20, 2008. In fact, Oto told an Oregonian reporter, he and de Solenni had tossed a coin to see who would have to drive.

“I lost the coin toss, so I was driving,” Oto said. “That’s probably what saved me when we got hit by a 500-pound IED.”

The 37,000-pound vehicle was thrown 20 feet in the air. Oto suffered two herniated disks in his back and a dislocated shoulder and was sent back to the United States a week later. De Solenni was killed instantly.

“When I got back, I was a mess,” Oto said. “I had a lot of guilt over Bruno passing. I really did feel in my heart of hearts that he was a better man than me.”

“I think about him all the time. Always part of my mind is there in that day.”

They started talking while they walked long distances, part therapy, part physical fitness.

“I really had a need in my heart to talk to someone about how I felt about what was going on, and this provided a perfect medium,” Oto said. “I just began talking about how I felt. About Bruno. See Jerry, in my opinion, really didn’t save my life once but twice.”

Last March, they participated in the annual Bataan Memorial Death March in New Mexico, which honors service members who endured the notorious World War II forced trek in the Philippines. Marchers carry 35-pound packs — rucksacks — on the marathon course.

Then they decided they should train for this month’s 26.2-mile Portland Marathon. Unlike the other 10,000 participants, Oto and Glesmann wore their uniforms and strapped on those packs.

“When Jerry came up with this idea, I said man, we are going to stick out like sore thumbs,” Oto said. “So I hope that whatever we do there, we do well.”

“We were honored that our chain of command allowed us to wear our uniforms to represent the Oregon Guard in what we thought of as the capstone athletic event in the state of Oregon, which is the Portland Marathon.”

To read the Oregonian article and watch a video about the two soldiers’ marathon march, go on-line to oregonlive.com/portla­nd/index.ssf/2009/10/at_portland_marathon_2_nationa.html (or use the Web site’s search option).

A collection of The Triplicate’s coverage of Bruno de Solenni can be found by going to triplicate.com and clicking “on-line extras.” This includes a letter he wrote to The Triplicate just days before his death. He was probably speaking for Oto and Glesmann and other comrades as well as himself when he wrote this:

“The best days are when an Afghan comes up to you thanking you for everything that you have done to help them and for making their (home) a better place now that the Taliban are gone.

“If anything, this is probably the biggest reason why I proudly enjoy being over here. I can’t explain it to anyone and there is no description of what it feels like, but it was the same feeling I got when I was in Iraq as well. And I am sure it’s the same feeling that generations of American soldiers before me have gotten as they fought and sacrificed their lives for the freedoms that we enjoy today.”