Home too soon
Sgt. Anthony 'Gabe' Green, a casualty of war in Afghanistan, remembered for his duty to family, country
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YORKTOWN - Sgt. Anthony "Gabe" Green was supposed to return home from Afghanistan next month.
But he came home too soon, carried in a casket draped with a flag.
Church bells tolled over gentle sobs at St. Paul Lutheran Church before the funeral started.
Cornell Green, the soldier's father, eulogized his son.
"What can you say with mere words?" he began. "Gabe was a husband, father, son, brother, uncle. He was a good man and a kind friend. He was honest, trustworthy and strong."
His father described a son who was devoted to his wife, Lindsay, and two daughters Madison, 3, and Kaydence, 6.
Although soldiers cannot wear jewelry in combat, Green died wearing his wedding band.
During the eulogy, Green's father related the story of his son's visit to a Victoria tattoo parlor before his deployment to Afghanistan:
"Hey, I have an emergency," Cornell said, quoting his son. "I'm leaving tomorrow to go to Afghanistan, and I want you to tattoo a wedding band on my ring finger.
"Hey, man, this will be permanent, and you can't get rid of it later," he quoted the tattoo artist.
Green's reply: The wedding ring is also forever.
The Texan National Guard soldier was 28 when he was killed by a roadside bomb Oct. 16.
He was assigned to the 143rd Infantry Detachment at Camp Mabry in Austin when he joined the service while still in high school.
His awards include a Purple Heart, Bronze Star and a Combat Assault Badge.
At the burial, the familiar and evocative trumpeting of "Taps" calmed a few hundred mourners, heads bowed and hands on their hearts.
Servicemen folded American flags into tight triangles for the presentation of the flag to the family.
They presented the star-bearing flags to Green's father, his widow and two daughters, the girls he used to spend Saturdays with watching "Sponge Bob Square Pants."
Green became the first serviceman from Yorktown to die in combat since the Vietnam War.
Since 2001, 807 troops have died in Operation Enduring Freedom, the code name for the Afghanistan War, with 255 in 2009 alone, according to the Associated Press and icasualties.org. The 2009 death toll in Afghanistan is higher than the toll in Iraq this year.
Green's brother, Jacob, served in the military, as did his World War II-veteran grandfather.
His father, who served in Vietnam, said his son's "life was not taken. It was given to others."
The father, an ardent Aggie fan, described himself as bleeding maroon. He noted the coincidences that link his son to the Aggie tradition at football games where spectators play the "12th man" with their passionate support:
Green was one of 12 reservists he trained with.
He was the 12th Texas National Guard soldier to die in Afghanistan.
His father said, "Gabe will always be my 12th man."
Comments
No man is an island, entire of itself.
October 26, 2009 at 6:26 p.m.Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manner of thine own Or of thine friend’s were. Each man’s death diminishes me, for I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know for whom the bell tolls,
it tolls for thee.
John Donne
God bless....
October 26, 2009 at 11:50 a.m.Reyrey, speechfree -- amen. Sandwichh - thank you for that moving poem.
Thank you also, VPD, for allowing the escort to Yorktown for this brave man.
Thank you Sgt. Green, for your sacrifice. God bless you and your family.
October 26, 2009 at 6:14 a.m.amen speechfree!
October 25, 2009 at 9:25 p.m.Thank you Sgt Green, God bless your family.
October 25, 2009 at 9:20 p.m.The soldier stood and faced his God Which must always come to pass...
October 25, 2009 at 10:31 a.m.He hoped his shoes were shining Just as brightly as his brass.
"Step forward now, you soldier, How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek? To My Church have you been true?"
The soldier squared his shoulders and Said,"No, Lord, I guess I ain't...
Because those of us who carry guns Can't always be a saint.
I've had to work most Sundays And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent, Because the streets are awfully tough.
But, I never took a penny That wasn't mine to keep...
Though I worked a lot of overtime When the bills got just too steep,
And I never passed a cry for help, Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me, I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place Among the people here...
They never wanted me around Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here, Lord, It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much, But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was a silence all around the throne Where the saints had often trod...
As the soldier waited quietly, For the judgment of his God,
"Step forward now you soldier,
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."
Some Gave All. May God send forth the comfort that only his love and compassion heal.
October 25, 2009 at 5:12 a.m.There is no sadder sound than Taps. I still can not hear that sound without tears not coming out; is a sound that reminds me every time I hear it about the sacrifice that our troops are making. SGT Green gave up his life for what this country stands for. There are no words to say thank you to his parents, for they taught their son that there is more than self. I been through this before and there are still no words to describe or to tell the family how one feels about their loss. God bless and do know that SGT Green did his job and we will always be thankful for everything that he has done.
October 24, 2009 at 11:14 p.m.