thedrifter
04-25-06, 08:22 AM
Posted: Sunday, Apr 23, 2006 - 02:03:27 am CDT
Final farewell for a fallen soldier
By Jessica Arrant
News Tribune
EUGENE, Mo. -- With hugs, tears and hands clasped in mutual support, the people who loved Lance Cpl. Darin Settle looked to each other Saturday and to God as a way to handle their grief.
Many of the friends walking away from Settle's casket before the funeral were caught up in the moment of grief. Their faces were red as they wiped their eyes and held each other in comfort. Even children sitting in the bleachers of the Cole County R-V High School Gym were still, holding their energy for an appropriate time to squirm again.
The solemnity of the moment was felt in the room as a Marine closed the casket and pulled the American flag across the front, then - along with three other Marines - slowly saluted their fallen comrade and proceeded to the back of the gymnasium.
It was evident looking around the room that a big part of Settle's life had been his commitment to his nation and to his family. There were flowers and posters, brilliant in patriotic colors, music representative of Settle and his values and a photo slide show commemorating Settle's life and family. He died for a cause that was important to him, the one that he chose to fight for.
In a eulogy, the Rev. Kim Smith said Settle was interested in the military at a young age. One day, he told his father, Jim Settle, that he wanted to be a Navy Seal because of all the things that they get to do. After his father cautioned him against it, Settle eventually decided to join the Marines instead.
“I want to be one of the few and proud, I want to be a Marine,” Settle told his father.
Settle was raised to value many of the things that the Marines value, including respect for leaders and God.
After Settle's death, his father questioned whether he had been too hard on his son as a boy. Smith said the Settles' raising of their son was a “job well done,” which drew warm applause from the family and friends.
Later in the memorial service, the Rev. Cellis Crum reminded the family and friends of how the Settles had guided Settle's dedication, not only to the military, but to God.
He told of how when Settle was a teen he had led a Bible study, during which several friends had chosen to follow Christ.
Crum said that the love that Settle shared with his country was part of a deeper kind of love, the kind of sacrificial love that is written about in John 15:13 - “Greater love has no man than this, but that he lay down his life down for his friends.”
That kind of love, Crum said, was important to Settle and should be important to those who say they loved him. Settle had led those friends to a decision for Christ, and in his death, Crum gave an opportunity for other friends to make a similar decision.
During the prayer and immediately following, the depth of emotion and love for Settle was evidenced by the number of sniffles, red eyes and wet cheeks.
But even though it was the pallbearers who moved Settle's body back outside to be taken to the cemetery, Crum reminded the family and friends that that body is merely a temple for use on earth.
“When we leave this world as children of God, our spirit goes back to God,” he said.
Ellie
Final farewell for a fallen soldier
By Jessica Arrant
News Tribune
EUGENE, Mo. -- With hugs, tears and hands clasped in mutual support, the people who loved Lance Cpl. Darin Settle looked to each other Saturday and to God as a way to handle their grief.
Many of the friends walking away from Settle's casket before the funeral were caught up in the moment of grief. Their faces were red as they wiped their eyes and held each other in comfort. Even children sitting in the bleachers of the Cole County R-V High School Gym were still, holding their energy for an appropriate time to squirm again.
The solemnity of the moment was felt in the room as a Marine closed the casket and pulled the American flag across the front, then - along with three other Marines - slowly saluted their fallen comrade and proceeded to the back of the gymnasium.
It was evident looking around the room that a big part of Settle's life had been his commitment to his nation and to his family. There were flowers and posters, brilliant in patriotic colors, music representative of Settle and his values and a photo slide show commemorating Settle's life and family. He died for a cause that was important to him, the one that he chose to fight for.
In a eulogy, the Rev. Kim Smith said Settle was interested in the military at a young age. One day, he told his father, Jim Settle, that he wanted to be a Navy Seal because of all the things that they get to do. After his father cautioned him against it, Settle eventually decided to join the Marines instead.
“I want to be one of the few and proud, I want to be a Marine,” Settle told his father.
Settle was raised to value many of the things that the Marines value, including respect for leaders and God.
After Settle's death, his father questioned whether he had been too hard on his son as a boy. Smith said the Settles' raising of their son was a “job well done,” which drew warm applause from the family and friends.
Later in the memorial service, the Rev. Cellis Crum reminded the family and friends of how the Settles had guided Settle's dedication, not only to the military, but to God.
He told of how when Settle was a teen he had led a Bible study, during which several friends had chosen to follow Christ.
Crum said that the love that Settle shared with his country was part of a deeper kind of love, the kind of sacrificial love that is written about in John 15:13 - “Greater love has no man than this, but that he lay down his life down for his friends.”
That kind of love, Crum said, was important to Settle and should be important to those who say they loved him. Settle had led those friends to a decision for Christ, and in his death, Crum gave an opportunity for other friends to make a similar decision.
During the prayer and immediately following, the depth of emotion and love for Settle was evidenced by the number of sniffles, red eyes and wet cheeks.
But even though it was the pallbearers who moved Settle's body back outside to be taken to the cemetery, Crum reminded the family and friends that that body is merely a temple for use on earth.
“When we leave this world as children of God, our spirit goes back to God,” he said.
Ellie