3 years ago
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You could hear the rumble before they arrived, Patriot Guard Riders escorting the funeral procession. No protestors showed up at the service, so Tuesday the Riders' mission was simply respect.
Master Sgt. Nate Polk is one of the Patriot Guard Riders. He says, ?We just want to make sure that those guys come home to a warm reception. And we pay them all the respect that they're due for serving our country and paying the ultimate sacrifice, as well as their families giving the ultimate sacrifice with this lost loved one.?
Sgt. 1st Class Gary Brown, 43, served in the military for more than 20 years, and even saw action in the Middle East during Desert Storm. Brown had just returned to Iraq after a two week Christmas trip home. It was his first day back on duty when militants shot down his chopper.
Brown received full military honors Tuesday, the detail taking special care with the flag that draped his casket.
?It's the very least that we as a nation and an Army can do showing our appreciation for their service, says Gen. Larry Haltrom.
Haltom presented Brown's wife Donna with the symbol of Gary's sacrifice for the country.
Haltrom says, ?It's a symbol of that soldier. I know I have my dad's in a case sitting on a shelf in my house. When I look at that flag, I think of him. It'll be the same for them.?
Haltom says the chopper crash that killed Brown and his crewmates is on the minds of all of his comrades in uniform.
?It hits a unit hard. It hit the unit and country hard to have a loss like that. It hit the unit back here, the ones back here that feel like they're helpless, it also hits them hard.?
See links below pictures for more on two other Arkansas soldiers killed in the helicopter crash and for a tribute to all 48 Arkansans killed since the War on Terror began.
