LEXINGTON, Va. – Honoring a local war hero, the actions of West Point cadets are keeping a local Army Captain’s legacy alive.
Army Capt. Andrew Ross, a Green Beret from Lexington, Virginia, served more than seven years in the military.
During his second overseas tour, Ross and two other men were killed in action in November 2018 when their vehicle was hit by an IED. He was serving with 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) in Afghanistan’s Ghazni Province.
He was loved by his men, who chose him as a leader.
“Drew was all about trying to find someone else’s potential,” said Sarah Geisen, his sister, who told us that her brother lived to lift up others. “He wanted to prove to people that they had more within themselves than they realized that they did.”
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She said a turning point in her brother’s young military career was at West Point during summer training at Camp Buckner.
“I remember getting letters from Drew during Buckner. It was a really cool wake-up call, but at the same time, he was like, ‘this is what I wanted to do. This is amazing’,” said Geisen said.
Capt. Ross’s legacy will now live on in the next generation of young soldiers. West Point senior cadet leadership chose to make Ross the namesake of the summer training that shaped his career at Camp Buckner. “He would be incredibly humbled. Drew was not one to draw this type of attention to himself, nor want it. That is what makes it incredibly special. Buckner really started to solidify his core military values,” said Geisen.
[Green Beret captain from Lexington laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery]
She said she and her family hope that Ross’s story will help other young cadets persevere.
“I hope that this really pushes that young cadet who’s thinking ‘I don’t know that this is for me, I don’t know that I can do this, I don’t know that I can achieve this.’ I hope that Drew’s personality resonates with that person and helps to push them because you don’t get to places of greatness without a struggle,” Geisen said.
In addition to this honor, West Point started a scholarship in his name. The 2021 recipient will be announced Friday.