Soldiers killed in Fort Hood shooting are mourned

Legacy of service, bravery recalled at several funerals

November 15, 2009|Ryan J. Foley, Associated Press

KIEL, Wis. - The hundreds of people who lined the main street of a small Indiana city yesterday fell solemnly silent as a white hearse passed on its way to the church. Mourners streamed into a Wisconsin gymnasium to remember a soldier who once promised to take down Osama bin Laden.

Across the country, many stood before several flag-draped coffins during funeral services for several of the 13 victims of the Nov. 5 shootings in Fort Hood, Texas.

In Plymouth, Ind., Sheila Ellabarger had placed two foot-high American flags in the grass where she watched the procession for Army Staff Sergeant Justin M. DeCrow. She said her children went to school with DeCrow and his wife - his high school sweetheart.

“He was killed by a terrorist in my mind but he was still killed in the line of duty. We owe him a debt of gratitude, him and his family and the other soldiers, she said.

During services in Norman, Okla., snapshots from Army Specialist Jason Dean Hunt’s recent wedding were projected. The 22-year-old soldier left a legacy of selflessness and service.

“The military community are all grieving here today over the loss of this dedicated soldier,’’ said Ross Ridge, deputy commanding general at Fort Sill, Okla.

The high school gymnasium in Kiel was filled for the funeral of Staff Sergeant Amy Krueger, a determined, energetic, 29-year-old. She joined the Army Reserves after the 2001 terrorist attacks and vowed to hunt down bin Laden. When her mother said she couldn’t do it alone, the soldier defiantly told her, “Watch me.’’

Funerals were also held yesterday for Captain John Gaffaney, 56, a psychiatric nurse who worked for San Diego County; Private First Class Michael Pearson, 22, of Bolingbrook, Ill.; and Private First Class Aaron Thomas Nemelka of West Jordan, Utah.