Soldiers in two Army communities took off Thursday for a four-day holiday weekend of fun, but not before honoring their fallen friends.

In Hanau, about 120 members of the 709th Military Police Battalion paid tribute to nine soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan during recent deployments. In Wiesbaden, about 150 soldiers and members of a local Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter honored nine members of the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade who died in Iraq in 2003 and 2004.

At the Fliegerhorst Casern chapel in Hanau, battalion Chaplain (Capt.) Stanton Trotter said losing fellow soldiers in war changes people’s perspective on the holiday, which is trumpeted by many for the extra days off it offers.

“This Memorial Day will be different for a number of us in this battalion,” Trotter said during the 30-minute ceremony featuring singing and Scripture readings.

Sgt. Wayne Olson is one such soldier. Olson was patrolling streets near the Abu Ghraib police station when insurgents attacked the station with mortars. His friend, Pfc. Rachel Bosveld, was killed when shrapnel pierced her heart, Olson said.

“It just makes it so much more real when it happens,” Olson said about losing fellow soldiers in war.

Olson also participated in a 14-day search for the body of Spc. Todd Bates, who drowned in the Tigris River after jumping in to save a fellow soldier who fell overboard during a river patrol. The soldier, Staff Sgt. Aaron Reese, also drowned. Both were members of the Ohio National Guard serving with the 709th Military Police Battalion, which patrolled areas in west Baghdad for a year.

The battalion’s other casualties were: two soldiers killed by roadside bombs; one died in a vehicle accident; one killed in a separate mortar attack; a soldier killed by a sniper after responding to a vehicle fire; and, most recently, Staff Sgt. Shane Koele was killed by a mine in Afghanistan, according to the battalion.

Outside the headquarters of the 205th Military Intelligence Brigade headquarters in Wiesbaden, soldiers placed American flags next to nine gray marble stones honoring soldiers killed in Iraq.

As a wind chime sounded lightly in the background, the brigade commander, Lt. Col. Anthony McDonald, reminded his soldiers that the men who died volunteered to serve their country.

“Each had their own reasons for entering, but did so willingly,” McDonald said. He called the men heroes.

Three of the soldiers were killed by two separate roadside bombs. Three died in a vehicle crash. Two died in a mortar attack at Abu Ghraib prison. Another died from a heat-related injury, according to the brigade.

At least 1,645 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the war in Iraq.