This afternoon I attended the funeral of the 3000th U.S. soldier to die in Iraq. He was from our area and our church was asked to host the funeral service. My Sr. Pastor presided. I don’t really have much to say, I guess. It was a simple service, an hour long with close to 300 people in attendance. Several people with close connections to the soldier spoke kind and appreciative words of him and offered their love and support to his family members. We prayed and sang and spoke the words of the 23rd Psalm, just what you do at any funeral. But this was not any funeral. We gathered to recognize the particular young life cut short, with the war’s milestone as the backdrop. I felt my Sr. Pastor handled that fact well by simply mentioning it as a matter of fact, acknowledging that we were all aware of it, but moving on to say that this young man was not a number, that this event was personal.
You can read the story in the Houston Chronicle here.
Guy M Williams 
nice article. each one lost is tragic. we had 2 boys die within a week of each other from lake jackson. all the streets have been lined with flags since then. it’s been on many people’s minds lately here.
Yeah, the way the group lined the streets and walkways with flags was a great tribute to this young man.