Army Sgt. Timothy R. Osbey

Died February 16, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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34, of Magnolia, Miss.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 155th Infantry Regiment (Mechanized), Mississippi Army National Guard, McComb, Miss.; killed Feb. 16 when a roadway collapsed, causing his vehicle to roll over, at Forward Operating Base Iskandariyah, Iraq. Also killed was Army Spc. Joseph A. Rahaim.

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Hundreds pay tribute to fallen Guardsman

Associated Press

MAGNOLIA, Miss. — Sgt. Timothy Osbey, a Mississippi National Guard soldier who died in Iraq last week, was remembered as a role model and an inspiration to others during his funeral on Saturday.

Osbey, 34, of Pike County, was buried with military honors in Cook Cemetery after a three-hour service at Sherman Missionary Baptist Church attended by about 500 people.

Osbey and Spc. Joseph Andrew “Drew” Rahaim died Feb. 16 when their vehicle rolled into a canal in Iraq. Both men were members of the 155th Brigade Combat Team, which is made up of nearly 3,500 Mississippi National Guard soldiers.

Maj. Gen. Harold A. Cross, Mississippi’s adjutant general, presented Osbey posthumously with a Bronze Star for meritorious service and a Mississippi Medal of Valor.

“Osbey paid a great price for freedom,” Cross said. “I think Sgt. Osbey would want us to ... say a prayer for those other soldiers that are standing close to danger, and their families.”

Cross said Osbey was the type of soldier who would go the extra mile.

“He would get up at night and go man the clinic,” he said of Osbey, who was an emergency medical technician.

The Rev. Alphonse Patterson praised Osbey for his athletic and academic achievements. Osbey was a graduate of Southern University and was a track star.

“The young man stood out in his neighborhood and his schools,” Patterson said. “Everywhere he went he touched somebody’s (life).”

Patterson said young people should emulate Osbey, especially those whose lives are off-track.

“Come out from the crack houses, come out from smoking dope, come out from standing around gathering around with friends,” Patterson preached. “If brother Timothy could speak to you today, he would say, ‘I’m glad that I went to school. I went to college and made something of myself.”

Numerous friends and fellow Guardsmen testified to Osbey’s influence.

“Tim had pride and he wanted to excel, to be good,” said Charlie Floyd, who coached Osbey to two state 800-meter track championships at Amite County High School. “Everything he would do, he would always smile and try to have a lot of fun with it.”

Osbey married Willie Marie Dickerson Oseby in December before leaving for Kuwait in January and later Iraq. Osbey also leaves a 9-year-old daughter, Saderia Osbey.