United States Army Reserve soldier Col. Frank Kestler, of Shelter Island, N.Y.,, New York Army National Guard soldier Lt. Col. Russell Clark and an Afghan National Police chief pose for a photo in Dand district, Afghanistan, last autumn. Accompanied by Clark, his troops and the chief’s police officers, Kestler journeyed to the Afghanistan field near Arif Kala, where his stepson, 1st Lt. Joseph Theinert, was killed in combat in June, 2010. At the site, Kestler prayed with the other soldiers, gathered some earth and blessed the ground with holy water given to him by Chrys Kestler, Joe’s mother. Clark is from Angola, N.Y.