IDAVILLE, Ind. — Volunteers firefighters set up a trail of 500 miniature American flags leading to a cemetery to honor the second soldier from the town killed in Iraq.
Army Capt. Timothy McGovern, 28, of Idaville and a soldier from Texas were killed Oct. 31 in a bombing in Mosul, the military said.
McGovern was a graduate of Twin Lakes High School in Monticello and Purdue University. Relatives say McGovern was a month away from finishing his second tour of duty in Iraq. He was being buried Friday during a private ceremony.
On July 17, Army Cpl. Nathaniel Baughman, 23, also of Idaville, was killed when rocket-propelled grenades were fired at a convoy vehicle in which he was riding in Bayji.
Lisa Landis didn’t know McGovern but still feels the loss in the 800-person community about 30 miles north of Lafayette.
“Being that he risked his life by going over and fighting for us, it’s a tremendous loss,” Landis said. “You almost take it personally because he was there for us.”
Resident Ron Cooper, a retired Army sergeant who served in the military for 22 years, put out his American flag to show his solidarity with McGovern’s family.
“The reason that we’re over there not withstanding, you’ve still got to support the troops,” he said.
McGovern was the 93rd member of the military from Indiana to have died since February 2003 after being sent to the Mideast for the war in Iraq.
McGovern’s parents asked for privacy during and after their son’s funeral.
But volunteer firefighters planned to stand at an intersection on the route to the cemetery and salute as the funeral procession passes.
Barbara Allen, another Idaville resident, remembers what a powerful experience it was to stand along the road during Baughman’s funeral procession. She believes the town is just as supportive of McGovern, even if residents show that support quietly, by respecting his family’s request for privacy.
“I think the town just kind of pulls together.”
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Idaville pulls together after losing 2nd son to Iraq war
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