Funeral remembers Lebanon native killed in Afghanistan

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LEBANON — Thousands of resident lined Jefferson Street today, quietly waving American flags, offering farewell salutes and giving a final community embrace to a fallen son, Army Spec. James Matthew Finley.

A Lebanon firetruck hung a huge American flag over the town’s main street, as Patriot Guard motorcycle riders, police, fire and state trooper vehicles escorted Finley’s flag-draped coffin to Veteran’s Park cemetery on the city’s south side.

Finley, a 21-year-old U.S. Army private and a 2005 graduate of Lebanon High School, was killed late last month by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan near the town of Jalalabad.

The blast killed fellow soldier Pvt. Andrew Shields of Washington state, and injured two other soldiers.

Among those honoring Finley was Jim Jenkins from St. Louis, representing the 173rd Airborne Brigade, of which Finley was a member.

“This young man was in the same unit I was in 38 years ago,” Jenkins said. “I’m here to give comfort and support to the family. There was a lot of dissension in this country when we came home from Vietnam — that’s not going to happen today.”

“The last time I saw a 173rd man deceased, it was 38 years ago in Vietnam. I am honored to be here.”

Gary Willis, an active duty Army sergeant, came from Fort Leonard Wood to show his support and ride with the Patriot Guard.

“I’m a paratrooper, too. That river runs deep,” said Willis, who served in Desert Storm, Somalia and one tour of duty in Iraq.

He’d seen the Patriot Guard ride at other funerals

“I said ‘one of these days I’m going to do that to honor these guys, too’,” Willis said.

During the funeral service at Heritage Baptist Temple, Finley’s father, Wayne, tearfully noted his son had e-mailed his family letting them know he was coming home very soon.

“This was not the homecoming we were planning,” Wayne Finley said.

He acknowledged the losses shared by other families whose lives were touched by the bomb blast in Afghanistan.

“To the family of Specialist Andrew Shields, our prayers are with you and we grieve with you,” he said. “To the other two soldiers who were wounded, we pray for your speedy recovery.”

And he had perhaps a surprising message for the terrorists who set the roadside bomb.

“I have no hatred, I have no bitterness, I have no resentment in my heart toward you,” he said. “What you have done you’ve done out of ignorance.”

John Michael Finley brought many in the crowd to tears as he passionately sang “Bring Him Home” while standing behind his big brother’s closed casket.

Shortly before the funeral service began, Mike Morgan planted a row of American flags in the ground in front of his business.

“On a day like today we should always be respectful of the families that have suffered losses, and especially respectful for somebody who dies in the prime of his live doing something that was of great service to all of us,” Morgan said.

He was proud of Lebanon residents for coming out in force to pay their respects.

“It shows it is a community here, not just a population of people. It demonstrates the values our town has.”

Finley was buried with full military honors, including a three-volley salute by soldiers from Fort Leonard Wood and the mournful playing of Taps by a military bugler.

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As friends and family gathered in a light rain to say farewell, a woman held up a hand-written sign that seemed to capture the town’s feelings.

“James, We Love You
We Miss You
We Will See You In Glory.”