Georgia Southern ROTC instructor killed in motorcycle crash

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Many are celebrating the life of a ROTC instructor at Georgia Southern University who passed away after a motorcycle crash.

Master Sgt. Chris Decker was a Senior Military Science Instructor for the Eagle Battalion at GSU.

Wednesday night, family and friends gathered at the Tailgate Sports Bar and Grill in Savannah.

The owner said he got a call Wednesday night saying some of friends and family were hoping to hold a celebration of life for Decker at the Tailgate Sports Bar and Grill, something he immediately said yes to and started working to put together.

He started printing out any photos of Decker that he could find on social media, laying them out on a table for people to see.

He says originally, he was told only about 10-15 people would come, but that number ended up reaching about 25-30.

Although he didn’t know Decker personally, he says he could tell how much he was loved based on the number of people that came out to honor him and the stories that were told.

He said being able to provide Decker’s friends and family with a place to remember him, was an honor in itself.

“We just wanted to be able to give them a place to connect and celebrate his life,” Tailgate Sports Bar and Grill owner Mike Bartlett said.

“When you have an event like Chris’s, you know, it’s tragic, but you want to make sure he gets the proper send off.”

That table with photos of Decker are still up inside the bar, something Bartlette said will stay there for a few days making sure to honor Decker in the best way possible.

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