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Mourners holding American flags line funeral route to honor memory of Army Cpl. Jason J. Hernandez
By Jim Carney
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Monday, Sep 17, 2007
STREETSBORO: Here are pictures and sounds of one town's grief and one family's loss.
Imagine the ringing of church bells, the somber click-clack of two horses pulling a hearse that carries a flag-draped casket of a fallen American soldier down state Route 14, and the quiet repetition inside St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church of the Lord's Prayer being said.
Think about the image of hundreds of people standing at attention, their hands over their hearts, their other hands holding American flags, along both sides of the highway as the funeral procession passes.
Listen to the sounds of how this Portage County community honored and cherished its son, classmate and friend, Army Cpl. Jason J. Hernandez, who died in a roadside bombing in Iraq on his 21st birthday.
Bagpipist Marilyn Lloyd, a registered nurse from Warren, played a somber tune, Going Home, as an Army honor guard carried the casket into the church before the Mass.
Parishioners sang Amazing Grace.
The Rev. Pat Ferraro discussed the words that had been spoken to describe the event that so touched the community.
''Words can be very powerful things,'' the priest said. ''Words like: 'patriotic, I pledge allegiance, oh say can you see.' Words like: 'democracy, freedom, justice, sacrifice, bravery.' Words which were much more than words for Jason Hernandez, who believed in the meaning behind those words. Words for which he was very willing to put his very life on the line.''
Father Ferraro said there are other words, like Mom and Dad, brother and sister, classmate and teammate.
Words change lives
And yet, he said, there are still more words, words that change lives. Words like, he said, ''Mr. and Mrs. Hernandez, it is my sad duty to inform you your brother, your husband, was killed.''
As powerful as those words are, he said, there are even more powerful words.
''Words like,'' he said, quoting the words of Jesus from the New Testament, '''There is no greater love than this, but to lay down one's life for one's friends.'''
Hernandez, a 2005 Streetsboro High School graduate, is the fourth member of the armed services with ties to Portage County to have died in Iraq.
The others were: Marine Sgt. Jeremy E. Murray, 27, of Atwater Township, who was killed Nov. 16, 2005, in a roadside bombing; Navy Hospitalman Matthew G. Conte, 22, a Field High School graduate who died Feb. 1, 2007, in a roadside bombing; and Navy Hospitalman Lucas ''Luke'' W.A. Emch, 21, of Brimfield Township, who died in a roadside bombing March 2, 2007.
Free-spirited friend
Brett McClafferty, one of Hernandez's close friends, in a eulogy at the church, called Hernandez, ''a free spirit.''
Jason, he said, ''had a fire in his eyes I've never seen. The same fire that defined him as an individual, was the same fire that ultimately made him a great soldier.''
After the funeral Mass, the flag-draped casket was placed on a blue horse-drawn hearse, owned by Jack Shuman and Roger Bourgeois of Hudson.
The soldier's widow, Alisha Hernandez, and his mother, Uta Hernandez, sat next to the casket on the hearse.
Before making the slow half-mile journey to Evergreen Cemetery, the soldier's father, John Hernandez, reached his arm over the side of the hearse and gently touched the flag and casket.
Then, dozens of family members walked behind the hearse as it traveled east on state Route 14.
'The least I can do'
One of those who watched the procession as it left the church, Raymond Newrones, of Lyndhurst, held an American flag and stood at attention.
''I go to military funerals,'' the self-employed 65-year-old said. ''It is the least I can do for my heroes.''
Newrones, who is not a veteran himself, said, ''I can never repay my debt to the United States military.''
At the cemetery, under a blue September sky, hundreds of mourners surrounded the green funeral tent.
And when the service was finished, after the three-round volley and the sounding of taps, the people in Jason Hernandez's life remained close to the wooden casket.
The mourners, including classmates of the soldier, somberly walked past the casket, touching it, leaving small American flags and red roses on top.
Some remained in chairs and simply stared at the casket.
On the grass on the perimeter of the tent were groups of friends, some in twos, threes and fours, hugging and sobbing.
A young man in a dark suit and ball cap cried and was comforted by other friends.
Dad thanks community
At the end of the service, the soldier's father, who repeatedly thanked the community for its support at the funeral Mass, kissed the casket of his son, walked out of the tent, and hugged family members.
Then he spoke these words of a grieving father out loud for the crowd to hear:
''Love your kids,'' he said. ''That's all I can say.''
Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.
STREETSBORO: Here are pictures and sounds of one town's grief and one family's loss.
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