| 12/10/2007 3:00:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article |
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| Pallbearers from the 116th Cavalry Division, Fort Knox, Ky., carry Sgt. Kenneth Booker’s casket into the Switzerland County High School gymnasium for his funeral in Vevay on Sunday. (Staff photo by Ken Ritchie) |
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| Bugler Spc. James Leggett, of the 113th Army Band, Fort Knox, Ky., plays “Taps” before Sgt. Kenneth Booker’s burial. (Staff photo by Ken Ritchie) |
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A natural calling
Community honors fallen soldier’s commitment to serve
Peggy Vlerebome and Ken Ritchie
Courier Staff Writers
Sgt. Kenneth Raymond Booker was remembered Sunday as a nice person with a great sense of humor, but even more for believing in the war he was fighting and for volunteering for a second tour in Iraq.
Booker, 25, who was known as KR by his family and friends, was killed Nov. 14 in Mukhisa, Iraq, when an enemy improvised explosive device blew up under the Stryker tank he commanded.
"At the time of his loss, Ken was serving in a unit whose mission today requires equal measures of courage and compassion," Maj. Gen. David H. Huntoon Jr., representing the secretary of the Army, told about 700 people at Booker's funeral.
"Given his demonstrated commitment to serve his country, his patriotism and his selfless caring for others, this dangerous duty was a natural calling for him," said Huntoon, whose own son is a captain in the same brigade in Iraq that Booker served in.
Huntoon presented a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart to Booker's father, retired Army Staff Sgt. Charles Raymond Booker of Vevay. Booker also was posthumously awarded an Army Commendation Medal for his work getting his unit ready for deployment from Feb. 20 to April 6.
Huntoon, who is the commandant of the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa., also brought remembrances of Booker from soldiers he knew in Iraq.
"In his platoon, his close friend, Staff Sgt. Jonathan Taylor, tells us that Sgt. Booker quickly earned his squad's respect with his know-how - and for trying to get them to sing the airborne song of the 82nd Airborne!" Booker was in the 82nd Airborne for his first two deployments and was in the Stryker battalion for his last.
"Sgt. Taylor says that Ken was a professional soldier who treated others with respect," Huntoon said, and quoted Taylor saying: "If more men lived their lives with the respect and dignity that Kenneth did, the world would be a much better place."
Huntoon quoted Sgt. 1st Class Joey Bowman, who was Booker's platoon sergeant, saying: "Sgt. Booker was dear to our hearts and a true leader in the platoon. I don't believe anyone loved their job and the Army more than him. He was one of the happiest people here in Iraq, with a smile on his face and a wisecrack to follow. He was an inspiration to me and for all of the soldiers. He would talk about his home and family with passion and delight. His calm demeanor was indispensable to our soldiers during operations. His leadership will be a great loss to us here."
Huntoon repeated what Booker's company commander, Capt. Dan Rausch, had said at a memorial service in Iraq two weeks ago: "Sgt. Booker enjoyed life and loved the Army. All he wanted was to get back on the ground and get another opportunity to be a fire team leader." Huntoon related that Rausch said that the day before Booker was killed, he had gone out of his way to help in the medical evacuation of a soldier during a company raid. Booker secured a helicopter landing zone and helped his platoon sergeant mark the zone "to get a fellow soldier off of the battlefield and safely to the (hospital)," Huntoon said.
The next day, Huntoon said, "the platoon's love and respect for Sgt. Booker was obvious when Staff Sgt. Quain and Staff Sgt. Orierdon risked their lives to save Ken from the explosion that struck his Stryker. And I know that he will be missed."
At the cemetery, Huntoon presented the flag that had draped Booker's coffin to Booker's father, and presented prefolded flags that were touched to the coffin to Booker's mother, Becky Graham of Milton, Ky., and wife, Betzaida "Betzy" Booker of Fayetteville, N.C.
Last words to his wife
Booker had just been home in September. He visited his wife, and then came to southeastern Indiana to visit his family, who live in Milton, Ky., Madison, Vevay and Switzerland County.
He left North Carolina on Sept. 11, and later that same night he wrote a letter to his wife that concluded, "Stay healthy, focused & positive."
They were his last words to her, and she repeated them often during visitation Saturday.
"My husband always tried to shelter me," she said. "Now it feels like someone took a blanket off me - took the roof off my house."
They had been together seven years and were married for four, their anniversary having been Oct. 3. A native of Panama, she has been in the United States for 16 years, and started the citizenship process before he died. Now she worries that she won't be allowed to be a citizen.
With each of his deployments - one to Afghanistan and two to Iraq - she had different emotions.
She said she took the first deployment very hard, because she didn't know if he had enough experience to stay safe. On the second deployment she knew he had the experience, so it was easier on her. The third deployment saddened her because he had already been away from her for so long. But she said he chose to go so she supported him. He talked about not re-enlisting, of becoming a police officer so they could buy a house.
"I used to say he was my hero, but now he is everybody's hero," she said.
A father's offer
Booker's father said he, too, worried about his son going to Iraq with the Stryker battalion, and said he offered at least twice to get reactivated and go with him.
"I'm proud of him and hurt," he said after the ceremonies were over and family and friends were gathered at the Ogle Haus. "When he went over this last time, I wanted to go. His company was low on strength. I would go with him to cover him. I wanted to watch and make sure he came home. If it had been me in that casket, it would have been fine."
Now Booker's father has asked to be reactivated after ending a 21-year career in the Army with retirement three years ago. "I would like to try to finish the cause my son was doing," he said.
Booker was the 13th soldier in the Stryker battalion to be killed since the unit left its base in Fort Lewis, Wash., for Iraq in April, according to the Tacoma, Wash., newspaper. Three more were killed Nov. 18, according to the Fort Lewis base newspaper.
There was nearly a three-week delay between Sgt. Booker's death and his funeral. The reason was that the medical examiner had to make sure that pieces of three soldiers were separated properly, his father said.
"I viewed him myself to make sure it was him," his father said.
Presentations at funeral
U.S. Rep. Baron Hill, D-Ind., read the remarks he put into the House record the week before. "Simply put," Hill said, Booker "was a wonderful person."
"It's not easy to lose one of your sons, but let us remember ... he was a hero. Let us remember he loved service to his country," Hill said.
The Blue Star Mothers of America, which since 1942 has provided blue stars for mothers to hang in their windows to show they have a child who is in the armed services or was previously, presented Gold Star Banners to Booker's father; his wife; his mother; and his brother, Kaleb Daniel Booker of Madison. The blue star is changed to a gold star when the service member is killed.
Santiago Tijerina, chapter president of the 82nd Airborne Paratroopers Association, honored Booker as a former member of the 82nd. He said that with the family's' permission, at the grave he would place the 82nd Airborne sticker on Booker's coffin at the cemetery.
Tracy Caddell, superintendent of Switzerland County School Corp., presented a plaque to Booker's family "in honor of his sacrifice for the freedom we enjoy and for his service to his country."
Charles T. "Tom" Applegate, director of the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs, told Booker's family and the audience that his name will be added to a memorial wall in Indianapolis that is dedicated to Hoosiers who are killed during the Global War on Terror. Applegate, who represented the office of Gov. Mitch Daniels at the funeral, presented Indiana state flags to Booker's family at the cemetery.
A representative from the office of U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., said Booker was "engaged in a noble cause ... to make the world safe for Americans and all other peace-loving people." A representative from the office of U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., said, "We can take pride in the example he set to make this world a safer place," and said Booker was "a true American hero."
Danny Gabbard, Charles Booker's preacher, spoke in addition to the Army chaplain who was in charge of the service.
"Charlie's strong belief guides his life," Gabbard said. "He believes for the United States, God and country are inseparable. These are the values he instilled in his son. ... Thank God for Kenneth Booker and many more just like him ... for purchasing for us at least one more generation of freedom."
Remembrances
Ellura Taylor-Kwaske of Vevay sat in the back row of chairs on the gym floor and sobbed during visitation. She grew up with Booker, who was a good friend of her younger brother, Heston Taylor.
"He was a sweetheart," she said. "He always tried to make people smile if they were sad."
She said that even though he died a soldier, she will always remember him as a small child with macaroni and cheese all over his face.
Booker's mother, Becky Graham, recalled how he would write funny new lyrics for popular songs, then entertain his family by singing them. She also laughed when she told how he liked to enter a room walking like a monkey and making funny noises.
"He was so quiet that anything he did cracked you up," said his aunt, Alice Powell of Madison.
He was shy about being kissed on the cheek by his mother, always turning his head away, Graham said. "When he was in Afghanistan was the first time he told me he loved me," she said.
When he was real little, he wasn't as brave as when he grew up. His mother recalled taking him to McDonald's, where he climbed up into the cheeseburger in the play area but was too scared to ride the slide down. "When I was eight months' pregnant with his brother, I had to climb up the slide backward to get him," she said, laughing.
"The sweetest memory is he took care of his little brother," Powell said.
"He was a mother hen," Graham said.
Slawson Cemetery
Cattle on the farm next to Slawson Cemetery near Bennington mooed regularly during the committal service with full military honors. Three times during the burial service a single rifle shot echoed from a valley beyond the cemetery, where several of Booker's ancestors are buried.
Birds sang and the sun tried to come out after two days of rain. About 130 people, including Patriot Guard Riders holding American flags, formed a U-shape on the slope above the grave The family that lives next to the cemetery watched from their front porch and fence.
A bugler stood on a tree stump at the top of the cemetery. Downslope a few feet, seven riflemen each fired three shots into the misty valleys. The bugler played "Taps."
A club remembers
Booker graduated from Switzerland County High School in 2000, and it was in the gymnasium at his alma mater that hundreds of people filed through for visitation Saturday and attended the funeral Sunday.
Booker was a member of FFA in high school, and the current FFA members were there throughout the weekend for him.
They converted a large trophy case in the middle of the school lobby into a Booker memorial. His FFA jacket was hung, and pictures of him were displayed, as were newspaper articles and his military medals.
Saturday, FFA members opened the doors for the steady stream of people who came during the four-hour visitation. An FFA member stood behind each end of the casket during visitation.
Before the funeral, FFA members handed out programs, opened doors and directed people to seating.
After the committal ceremony at Slawson Cemetery in Bennington, the Vevay community had home-made food waiting at the Ogle Haus across the highway from the high school.
Members of the FFA stood in a row inside the door to direct people to the buffet line.
As one of the Army's casualty assistance officers entered the Ogle Haus, he threw up his arms and said with a big smile, "You're everywhere!"
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Reader Comments
Posted: Monday, December 10, 2007
Article comment by:
GAIL FREEMAN
MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ARE WITH THE FAMILY.WE ALL NEED TO REMEMBER ALL OF THE MEN AND WOMEN IN OUR PRAYER EACH DAY.WE MAY NOT BELIVE IN THE WAR BUT WE NEED TO BELIVE IN OUR SOLDIERS.WE SOMETIMES FORGET UNTIL IT HAPPENS SO CLOSE TO HOME.AS OUR MEN AND WOMEN (MY SON)HERE IN MADISON GET READY TO LEAVE I ASK THAT WE REMEMBER THEM ALL.
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