Soldier laid to rest

By April Silvaggio  

JANUARY 23, 2010 3:35 p.m. (1)

Steve Whitsitt clutched the American flag that had draped his youngest son’s casket moments before.

Quietly, he shared a word with U.S. Army Brigadier General Mark A. McAlister.

Then he reached for his wife Debby’s hand.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

Both looked straight ahead, their eyes focused on the silver coffin a few feet in front of them.

“Who would dream this day would come,” Debby Whitsitt said earlier Saturday as she eulogized her son U.S. Army Private First Class Geoffrey A. Whitsitt during his “Homegoing Service” at North Hills Community Church in Taylors.

“We know there are thousands of people praying for us,” the mother of the fallen soldier said.

The 21-year-old who served as a military police officer with the U.S. Army Airborne out of Fort Bragg, N.C., was killed Jan. 13 in Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device detonated near his humvee.

Family, friends, military servicemen and women, veterans and strangers who simply wanted to pay their respects to a hero filled the worship center.

Hundreds more lined the route up West Lee Road and down Wade Hampton Boulevard to Woodlawn Cemetery, bordered all the way from the church by more than 20,000 American flags.

Moms and Dads braved the cold wind and misty rain with their children.

A U.S. Mail carrier pulled his truck into a parking lot, and stood alongside it saluting.

Firefighters stood at attention beside their trucks.

On West Lee Road and again on Wade Hampton Boulevard, ladder trucks formed archways and flew Old Glory.

Nearly 100 Patriot Guard Riders kept vigil at the gravesite during the service, while others waited outside the church to provide the hearse with a rumbling motorcycle escort.

The Patriot Guard Riders are a group of motorcycle enthusiasts whose main mission is to attend the funeral services of fallen American heroes as invited guests of the family. Their mission is to show respect and shield the family and friends from unwanted interruptions.

Folks began arriving at the church long before 10 a.m. Saturday, when the family was to begin receiving friends. By 10:30, the line stretched outside the sanctuary, through the front lobby and down another hall.

As Whitsitt’s family stood by the American-flag-covered casket and thanked mourners for their prayers, love and support, a video set to music played on two huge projector screens.

With Lee Greenwood singing “God Bless the U.S.A.,” there were photographs of Whitsitt in his mother’s arms as an infant, camping as a youngster in the woods near his home, clowning around with his brother through his teenage years and with his family this past Christmas.

Then it was Toby Keith crooning his “American Soldier.”

And I will always do my duty no matter what the price

I’ve counted up the cost, I know the sacrifice

Oh, and I don’t want to die for you

But if dyin’s asked of me

I’ll bear that cross with honor

‘Cause freedom don’t come free

During the service, young men and women raised their hands in prayer to the music of “Blessed Be Your Name,” and “Made Me Glad.” A little boy rested his head on his daddy’s shoulder. An older gentleman with an American Legion military cover wiped away tears.

“I remember both Steven and Geoff telling us you know we’re OK until you see the car pull into the driveway,” Debby Whitsitt said during a eulogy of her son that became a testimony of her faith. “We couldn’t believe it when the car pulled up.”

“The strength you see in our family is not our strength,” she said. “We wouldn’t have the strength to go through what we’ve been through these last nine days…But God is faithful. God is good. He created Geoff. He knew how many hairs were on his head. And he knew the number of days he had on this earth.”

She asked his “brothers” from Fort Bragg to stand.

She asked all active duty military to join them.

The sanctuary was filled with applause.

She asked all veterans to stand with them.

There was another round of applause.

Whitsitt’s father said his son had a big heart.

“He was rough, and he was the little guy, and he was the little guy with a big attitude some of the time,” Steve Whitsitt said. “But he had a compassionate heart.”

He shared a conversation that he had with his son the first time Whitsitt had to kill a man in combat.

“He told me the only thing he could think about as he saw his body falling is that he had killed someone’s father,” the elder Whitsitt said. “My son was a man of faith. And he tried as hard as he could to live a life that was pleasing to God.”

Whitsitt’s brother, Steven, said he wished his brother could have lived to see his first nephew.

Steven Whitsitt and his wife Megan are expecting a baby this summer.

“I’m sad because my child won’t get to know his uncle,” Steven said. “But he will know what an honorable man his uncle was.”

Steven Whitsitt said all his little brother ever wanted to do was be a soldier and a police officer.

“He was living his dream,” he said.

Then he glanced toward his brother’s camouflage helmet perched atop his M16 rifle sitting inside his boots adorned with his dog tags.

“Geoff died loving his God, loving his family and loving his country,” Steven Whitsitt said.

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Randy 'Steam' Stevens  - Beautiful Story   |64.53.107.xxx |2010-01-24 06:38:03 It's difficult to capture something so incredibly sad and so majestic as a military funeral but you've come as close as is possible. Thank you. Reply

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