Saluting a fallen hero

WILLIAMSBURG - Spc. Chad A. Edmundson, the soldier from Williamsburg who was killed May 27 in Iraq, was laid to rest Thursday on a quiet hillside near Duncansville, but not before Blair County residents paid their respects in a dramatic display of patriotism.

As the two-mile-long funeral procession for the 20-year-old soldier moved slowly from the Williamsburg Alliance Church to the cemetery behind the Dry Run Independent Baptist Church, several thousand local residents lined the route.

Some waved flags. Many held their hands over their hearts as the funeral entourage passed. Both men and women saluted, and others stood at attention.

"God Bless You and Thank You Chad," was lettered on a sign on a porch in Williamsburg.

"Chad is a Hero," read another on a porch along Duncansville's Main Street.

Downtown Williamsburg from Piney Creek Drive and Clover Creek Drive to the Westvaco plant was jammed with residents, in some spots three and four deep.

People stood at Dunkin' Donuts, the Old Canal Inn and The Dream in Hollidaysburg. They lined the sidewalk outside the Blair County Prison. And 200 employees of McLanahan Corp., silhouetted against the gray sky, lined the railroad tracks that parallel Route 22 through Gaysport.

George L. Sidney Jr., McLanahan's president, said the employees were so quiet you could hear a pin drop as they awaited the line of cars traveling along the 16-mile route.

While noting the workers' patriotism, Sidney said, "It was a bigger gesture (Edmundson) did."

Pvt. Lindsey Miller, a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard's 56th Stryker Brigade at the Frankstown Armory in Altoona, Edmundson's unit, stood outside the Williamsburg Alliance Church. She summed up the day, calling the loss of the young soldier "a very big deal, a real loss."

Edmundson, she said, was an outgoing young man who kept everybody upbeat.

"You never had a down time when he was around. He was very supportive of everybody," said Miller, who is from Tyrone.

She was among more than 400 mourners who gathered for the funeral service conducted jointly by National Guard chaplain Russell Brown from Pittsburgh and church Pastor Paul R. Campbell.

Edmundson's mother, Karen Cornell, of Everett; his father, Roy, and his stepmother, Sherry, of Williamsburg RD; and his brothers and sisters joined other family members for the 90-minute service.

Brown praised the young soldier, mentioning that he joined the Army between his junior and senior years of high school knowing that he would likely end up in Iraq.

"He wanted to make the world just a little bit better," Brown said.

Campbell said the freedom Americans enjoy comes "at a cost, a very high cost."

During the service, a message was read from Spc. Jordon Swartz, Edmundson's cousin, who was also serving in Iraq.

"He gave his best every day. He took great pride in everything he did," said Swartz, who said he and Chad would talk daily about the people back home. "I will be proud to say he was my brother in arms, a cousin, a friend."

Edmundson's sister, Jessica Miller of Enola, talked about her brother as a "free spirit," a young man who made friends wherever he went. "He brightened every room he entered."

"Our freedom is not free. It comes at a very high price. It is not the Senate, the Congress or the president that gives us our freedom. It is the American soldier," Miller said through tears.

At the gravesite, Trudy White, a friend of the family, said Edmundson was a wonderful young man who died a hero, protecting others from a roadside bomb.

The Army reported Edmundson died when an improvised explosive device went off while he was on patrol with the National Guard's Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 112th Infantry Regiment, 56th Stryker Brigade.

Fifty-eight cyclists with the Patriot Guard Riders also attended the funeral. Ralph A. DeLorme of Vandergrift, a retired Army veteran, was among the members of the guard, saying his organization pays their respects to the "fallen hero." And, he added, "We try to keep uninvited guests [protesters] away."

There were no uninvited guests at the funeral Thursday.

"It's been a long time since we've seen patriotism like this. It was such a great tribute," DeLorme said.

Mirror Staff Writer Phil Ray is at 946-7468.