Matthew Scott Lourey
Era: Global War on Terror
Military Branch: Army
Status: Featured Story
Photo 1: Mr. Lourey with a homemade F-Troop flag to celebrate his brother's first day at kindergarten.
Photo 2: Mr. Lourey walking in the desert
Photo 3: Mr. Lourey with helicopter
Photo 4: Matt and Lisa Lourey at a ball
Photo 5: Matt and Lisa Lourey at a marathon
Image 6: Mr. Lourey's drawing
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Matthew Scott Lourey served during the Cold War and the Global War on Terror. He served in both the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Army.
Mr. Lourey was born on July 28, 1964, in Laurel, Maryland, the son of Eugene D. Lourey and Becky (Savage) Lourey. He grew up on a farm outside of Kerrick, Minnesota, from 1974 until graduating in 1982 from Askov Senior High School.
Mr. Lourey’s childhood dream was to serve honorably in the military, and he fulfilled this dream with twenty-one years of honorable service. He enlisted in the Marine Corps on December 19, 1983. He separated from the USMC on 18 December 1987.
Mr. Lourey entered the Minnesota Army National Guard on February 4, 1988. He served as a Cavalry Scout until May 21, 1990, in order to attend Warrant Officer Candidate School. He became a U.S. Army Aviator.
Mr. Lourey attended several military schools, including Food Service Specialist Course (USMC); 19D Reclassification Course; Air Assault Course; Rappel Master Course; Primary Leadership Development Course; Warrant Officer Candidate School; Initial Entry Rotary Wing Aviator Course; OH-58D Aviator Qualification; OH-58D Warrior Instructor Pilot Course; Fixed Wing, Multi-Engine Qualification; and Airborne School. Matt was rated an OH-58D Scout Pilot and a C-12 Pilot.
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Lourey had assignments in Sinai, Egypt; Illesheim and Garlstadt, Germany; and Fort Polk, Louisiana. His last assignment was to the 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Mr. Lourey died on May 26, 2005, in Buhriz, Iraq, in service to his country. His OH58 was shot down. He was interred in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, with full military honors. In addition, public memorial service was held for Matt on Friday, June 3, 2005, at the East Central High School near Askov, Minnesota.
Mr. Lourey’s memory was honored on May 1, 2008, at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, when the Lourey/Scott Hall was dedicated. Likewise, on May 21, 2008, his memory was honored when the CAB Aid Station at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was renamed the Lourey Building.
Mr. Lourey was decorated with the Bronze Star, the Purple, the Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal with “V” Device, Army Commendation Medal (4th Award), Army Achievement Medal (5th Award), Army Good Conduct Medal, Good Conduct Medal (USMC) National Defense Service Medal (2nd Award), Army Forces Expeditionary Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Forces Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (w/ 1 star)(USMC), NATO Medal (2nd Award), Air Assault Badge, Parachutist Badge, Rifle Expert Badge (USMC), and the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation.
Source: Material provided to Veterans’ Memorial Hall from the family
Memorial recollections of Mr. Lourey:
Matt’s father, Eugene, wrote: “Matt had the good fortune to have great certainty from a very early age about his reason for being. He never wanted to be anything other than a military pilot.
“Matt also had the good fortune to find a way to do his duty without reservation while doing something he truly loved to do and doing it with exceptional skill. He was confident enough in his skill and his mission in life that he never had a need to brag about professional accomplishments. Matt set his own course and judged his own race. Few of us could follow that course and fewer yet could maintain the pace.
“Matt had achieved an extraordinary balance between duty and fun. Duty was always first, but when duty was done he was rarely without an idea for something fun to do. Most of his fun was almost childlike in its innocence and in the enthusiasm he brought to it. He never gave up any of the passions of his youth.”
His father was right: Even on his big brother’s first day of kindergarten, Matt made an F-Troop flag to wave in celebration of that day.
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A day after Lourey’s OH58 was shot down, a fellow service member, David, wrote, “We were the platoon on the ground that night they came to support. These men died protecting us, and I will do everything I can to learn their names and honor their memory. We owe them that much.”
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Staff Sergeant Travis C. Bennett, US Army, Infantry, wrote to Matt’s widow, Lisa on Saturday, November 10, 2007, “Your husband, Matthew, saved the lives of me and my crew. I never got to meet him in person, but have heard him on the radio and saw, with my own eyes, how he gave his life for ours.”
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Dedication of Lourey/Scott Hall, Fort Campbell, Kentucky:
On May 1, 2008, at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, the Lourey/Scott Hall was dedicated.
This day was for the soldiers of the 7th Squadron, 17th US Cavalry Regiment, “the Palehorse.” They told stories. They said Matt was like their dad and they listened to him. He never yelled, he counseled; he taught them and influenced them.
Matt’s mother wrote the following words remembering that day, “These men love Matt, they carry with them their memory of his instruction, imparted with the deep responsibility of the work, yet enveloped in the joy of flying and serving. As I think back over that day, over and over, I shiver because I was allowed into a private, very private, deeply emotional, passage for Palehorse family.”
Following are selections from the Dedication Program:
“CW4 Lourey served proudly as an instructor pilot in 4-2 ACR during one of the most pivotal periods in the unit’s history. CW4 Lourey completed the C-12 Fixed Wing Multi-engine Qualification in 2001 and returned to Fort Bragg, NC … where he served as the Standardization Instructor Pilot during Operation Iraqi Freedom II. Upon returning in the spring of 2004, CW4 Lourey was hand selected by HRC to move to a highly sought after job in Virginia. Upon learning that the Squadron was being called upon to once again deploy to OIF III, CW4 Lourey volunteered to remain with the CAV until mission complete.”
“CW4 Lourey was not only a highly skilled aviator who loved to teach and train army aviators, but also an avid athlete with an absolute love for life and for his wonderful wife Lisa. His enthusiasm with life was evident in all that he did and his actions always spoke louder than his words. When it came to physical fitness, CW4 Lourey could not accept less than the max. He did this for his own health as well as to set the example for junior leaders. … CW4 Lourey has dedicated the majority of his life to the mentorship and training of young aviators.”
The words on the wall in the Lourey/Scott Hall read as follows: INTEGRITY, HONOR, LOYALTY, DUTY, RESPECT, COURAGE and SERVICE. Each word had a motto and a photo beneath it. Under SERVICE were the words, “Put the welfare of the nation, the Army, and your subordinates before your own.” The image beneath it is a photo of Mr. Lourey’s gravestone at Arlington National Cemetery with the crossed swords engraved upon it--the Palehorse image.
Renaming of the CAB Aid Station, Fort Bragg, North Carolina:
On May 21, 2008, the CAB Aid Station at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, was renamed the Lourey Building. Matt’s mother, Becky, described the day: “Chief Warrant Officer Downey told Matt’s widow, Lisa, and me that when he flew with Matt, he considered it his ‘time off’ because he loved how Matt taught. He had so much to say. He said how he loved the way Matt ran, his unique gait. He loved how Matt was so enthusiastic, because you were lifted up when you were around Matt. He said he teased Matt about his lisp and asked him what kind of accent he had. Matt said, ‘It took 10 years of speech therapy to get this accent.’ Then Downey became very serious and told us that he had just flown with Matt the day before Matt went down.
“CW4 Mike Leoni was the escort for Lisa and me, making sure we got to the right places on time. He told us many things. He was reflective as he said, ‘Matt was a real soldier. The way he spoke, you just followed him. Matt turned a very bad housing situation into a fitness experience. He took our minds off of the lack of adequate housing; we ran, we exercised, we scrounged for food – we became very determined to survive and very close.’”
Leoni related some of that experience. “Matt was the best,” he said. “We had to scrounge for food, our housing was essentially non-existent, but we were at our best – we did calisthenics – we ALL worked together, we risked all together. Yes, of my three trips, Matt’s was the best – not because of food and housing, but because of spirit, because we all knew we were valuable, and effort was placed on morale and responsibility.”
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Matt found his soul mate in his beloved wife, Lisa, whom he married May 11, 2002. They had just finished building a home together when Matt died. Lisa has now retired from the Army as a Major; earlier she served in Iraq as an Arabic interpreter for UNSCOM.
Matt and Lisa met while running a marathon in Egypt when stationed there. Matt’s plan had been to run 50 marathons by the time he was 50. Once, when running a marathon together with Lisa, Matt saw a mother running in memory of her son. Matt asked Lisa, if anything happened to him, would she run in his memory? Lisa is doing much more than that: Lisa is running those 50 marathons by the time Matt would have reached 50, in his memory. As of April 2011, Lisa has completed marathon #41.
Matt especially liked the following verse:
From running I’ve learned
that searching your soul and pounding your soles
are somewhat synonymous…
that pain is nothing
compared to the emptiness that comes from quitting.
