2 months ago
ShareFuneral services for 1st Lt. Tyler Parten, 24, were held Thursday in Marianna. Parten was killed in Afghanistan last week after insurgents attacked his unit.
It seemed as if the whole town of Marianna turned out to honor a beloved soldier, a first lieutenant and a graduate of WestPoint. He's their hero, Tyler Parten.
Tyler's younger brother Daniel says, "My brother took the fight to the enemy and he was successful. He served many Americans that day and it was on purpose. It was not an ambush."
The service is not a funeral but to the family it's a celebration of Tyler's life He's a man who loved music, God and family.
Tyler's mother read one of his last e-mails he sent.
It reads, "This deployment has allowed me to understand that I am not in control and that if I seek Him [God] and His guidance than I have nothing to fear," cries Lona Parten.
They are words from a man who lived life to its fullest, and his family now asks that others will do the same.
Tyler's sister Anna Laura says, "Let's honor him by going out in the world and not caring so much, and let's do a little good. We need to help people. We need to laugh more and sing and serve selflessly like he did."
It's a request and a tribute from a family in a small Arkansas town honoring another lost soldier in the fight against terrorism.
"I don't grieve for Tyler. I grieve for us, because as a nation we lost a great man," says Lona Parten.
Parten's family is carrying on his love of music with a foundation in his name. Funds raised will go towards purchasing small instruments that soldiers can use to befriend children they encounter.
Tyler Parten's family was presented with his five medals of honor, including the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.
Memorial donations to the Tyler Parten Memorial Fund can be made payable to Lona or Anna Laura Parten with the memo of Tyler Parten Memorial Fund. The address is P.O. Box 12977, Searcy, A.R. 72149.
The Department of Defense says Parten died in Konar province after being wounded when insurgents attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire.
He had been stationed in Afghanistan since May. Parten grew up in Marianna and graduated from Lee Academy.
