RIP Will Larson, AKA “IraqGunz”

[Casual Friday]

There's a GoFundMe that was started by Roger Wang of Forward Control Designs and Josh the CEO of Sionics, I forget his last name.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/rsyh3-the...member=2489896

[WobblyPossum]

Damn. Sad to hear this. He was a wealth of knowledge and seemed to be a nice guy.

[DocGKR]

Wow...I was not expecting that. Very sad and a big loss for the community at large.

[Eric_L]

When I read that forum, I knew I could believe what he said. He was obviously a sharp guy.

[CWM11B]

RIP. I corresponded with him once about hosting a class. Wish I could have made it happen, and regret not taking a class on my own. We had similar paths, started out infantry, and ended up as GM2s in the USCG. My time was before his though. Fair winds and following seas Guns...

[SeriousStudent]

Bax, thank you for posting the link here, it's much appreciated.

Will was a very good guy. He sometimes seemed a little rough around the edges, but it was due to his passion for sharing knowledge. That knowledge could often save lives. He absolutely hated people who knowingly pushed sub-standard equipment when they knew that lives could be at stake. That could come across as brusque. But it was really due to the depth of his commitment.

Will was a US Army and US Coast Guard veteran. He spent YEARS deployed overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan. He performed support for US and Allied military units, in addition to the private contractor organizations he was hired for.

I was on the phone with him Tuesday night, and he was planning a new advanced armorer course. He'd bring his famous "Box of Shame", and students would build an AR with those parts. We'd go to the range, diagnose and then refit the guns to make them run.

Last year when he was in Texas, we sat up till 4 am one morning, just talking about ways to try and do things better. Sitting on the couch, drinking rum, and scheming.

I gave him a patch that said "Parental Advisory: I say F*** a Lot". That's how Will was. Raw and unvarnished.

Will was a moderator on another forum, and was universally selected by the members as Moderator of the Year. No surprise at all to anyone that knew him.

Your loss is keenly felt, my friend.

[Colt191145lover]

Terrible news!
I'm honestly at a loss for words.
His knowledge, work and posts (along with a few others) was literally life changing for me.
I will be praying for his family and friends.
We are diminished.

[orionz06]

Always a good dude, sad to hear.

[LittleLebowski]

Bax, thank you for posting the link here, it's much appreciated.

Will was a very good guy. He sometimes seemed a little rough around the edges, but it was due to his passion for sharing knowledge. That knowledge could often save lives. He absolutely hated people who knowingly pushed sub-standard equipment when they knew that lives could be at stake. That could come across as brusque. But it was really due to the depth of his commitment.

Will was a US Army and US Coast Guard veteran. He spent YEARS deployed overseas in Iraq and Afghanistan. He performed support for US and Allied military units, in addition to the private contractor organizations he was hired for.

I was on the phone with him Tuesday night, and he was planning a new advanced armorer course. He'd bring his famous "Box of Shame", and students would build an AR with those parts. We'd go to the range, diagnose and then refit the guns to make them run.

Last year when he was in Texas, we sat up till 4 am one morning, just talking about ways to try and do things better. Sitting on the couch, drinking rum, and scheming.

I gave him a patch that said "Parental Advisory: I say F*** a Lot". That's how Will was. Raw and unvarnished.

Will was a moderator on another forum, and was universally selected by the members as Moderator of the Year. No surprise at all to anyone that knew him.

Your loss is keenly felt, my friend.

Our loss.

[Surf]

Haven't been involved on the other site he moderated in a very long time, but I always valued my conversations with Will. He will be missed and a loss to our community. Aloha O'e my friend.