GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.-
Hundreds of residents waved flags and saluted fallen Army Cpl. Wade J. Oglesby as a horse-drawn carriage flanked by honor guards passed through downtown for his funeral procession Saturday.
Oglesby, 27, was killed April 18 when an improvised explosive device detonated near the Humvee he was driving in Taji, Iraq. The blast also killed Cpl. Michael M. Rojas, 21, of Fresno, Calif.
Both men were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 37th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, at Fort Lewis, Wash.
Phyliss McClelland and her son, Roger, were among those standing on North Avenue to honor Oglesby during the funeral procession.
“I’m really glad that the family allowed the community to show them some compassion and support,” the son said.
About 100 people attended Oglesby’s funeral service Saturday.
“He was proud to do his duty,” Oglesby’s brother, Richard, wrote in a letter read at the funeral service. “He was my younger brother but I always looked up to him. I love you, bro.”
At the cemetery, a bagpiper played “Amazing Grace.” Honor guards performed a 21-gun salute, and the family released white doves.
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Information from: The Daily Sentinel,
