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A Final Salute To Army Sgt. Cory Clark

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 15, 2007

Updated: 09/13/2007 05:33 pm

PLANT CITY - From the war zone of Afghanistan to the Garden of Peace Cemetery in Plant City, Army Sgt. Cory Clark has come home.

Clark, born and raised in Plant City and a 2000 graduate of Durant High School, was killed Aug. 28 while serving his country in Afghanistan.

Family and friends paid their last respects to Clark Sept. 8 at the Church of God in Plant City.

As I stared at the flag-draped coffin I couldn't help but think about Clark's sacrifice for me, his sacrifice in the name of freedom, for me.

It hurts when you pay your last respects to an American soldier. In our pain we take our private grieving to public services; we obscure the darkness with bright flags. We turn to politicians to speak for us when they offer comfort to the family and the community.

But what if a soldier dies and no one notices? Does that soldier's life and death have meaning to anyone except family and friends?

As Americans caught up in daily life we sometimes fail to fully realize the service our soldiers have given because it is not personal enough for us. What we don't realize, however, is that it is personal, for every one of us.

When a soldier dies each of us is marred because a noble part of our national family is taken from us and we are lessened by their loss.

State Rep. Rich Glorioso, in his eulogy to Clark, said it best, 'It is the soldier, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press. It is the soldier, not the pastor, who has given us freedom of religion. It is the soldier, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech. It is the soldier, not the campus organizer, who has given us the freedom to demonstrate. It is the soldier, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.'

I was honored to be a part of Clark's funeral riding my motorcycle as a member of Patriot Guard Riders. The guard is a group of mostly military veterans who unite at the funerals of those who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. Their essential duty is to shield the mourning families from protesters.

The group was established as a direct result of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., whose followers have sought public attention by demonstrating against homosexuality at the funerals of American soldiers.

According to the Rev. Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist, God is angry and hates gays. In Phelps' world of theology, God has decided to kill U.S. soldiers as punishment for fighting for a nation that protects homosexuals.

They protest at funerals of soldiers killed in Afghanistan and Iraq, waving signs that declare, 'Thank God for Dead Soldiers' and 'God Hates Your Tears' in the faces of grieving families.

Outside the Church of God, under a hot sun, more than 150 Patriot Guard Riders gathered to pay their respects to Clark and to protect the mourners in case Phelps and his hate group turned up to cause trouble.

But no one came to picket or heckle.

Inside the church, family and friends filled the pews to mourn the loss of a soldier, a husband, a father, a son, a student and a member of our community.

Members of the Patriot Guard stood in solemn silence, the only statement their American flags; they respectfully removed their headgear and placed their hands over their hearts as the casket carrying Clark's body was removed from the church and placed into a hearse for his final journey.

In a last, thunderous salute to Clark, guard members revved up their motorcycles as they exited the church parking lot and escorted Clark's grief-stricken family and friends through the streets of Plant City to the cemetery.

Not long ago, the sight of two half-mile columns of bikers rumbling your way was cause for concern. But since Sept. 11, those columns are more likely to consist of Patriot Guard Riders paying respects to an American soldier killed in warfare than a band of outlaw bikers.

Traffic stood still at intersections as Clark rode for the last time down the familiar streets of his hometown.

The funeral procession was lined with people in respectful silence; they held American flags and waved signs of support. There were families, young and old, veterans and students. Some wept as the procession passed.

The column of vehicles arrived at Garden of Peace Cemetery at 4:10 p.m. led by the Plant City Police Department and more than 150 Patriot Guard Riders.

Veterans and soldiers saluted. Rugged men wept as the hearse carrying Clark entered the cemetery.

Family members consoled one another as members of the Army's honor guard folded two American flags slowly and methodically, corner to corner, presenting one to Clark's wife, Monica, and the second to his mother, Wrenita Codrington.

Codrington hugged the flag to her chest and bowed her head as taps sounded across the cemetery and a military 21-gun salute echoed in the distance.

And so it was - among the roar of 150 motorcycles and waving American flags, among saluting soldiers and mourning friends, among a family all too familiar with loss and full of love - that the last chapter in the life of Sgt. Cory Clark's life came to a end.

Patriot Guard member Eddie Richter of Plant City said he longs for the time when the last soldier comes home. 'I ride my motorcycle on these missions to show my respect for our fallen heroes, and to shield the family from protestors, but I also pray for the killing to end.'

Correspondent Jerry Lofstrom can be reached at jdlmcl@aol.com.

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