Army Spc. Jeremy W. McHalffey

Died January 4, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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28, of Mabelvale, Ark.; assigned to the 39th Infantry Brigade, Arkansas Army National Guard, Little Rock, Ark.; killed Jan. 4 when an improvised explosive devise detonated near his military vehicle in Taji, Iraq. Also killed were Spc. Jimmy D. Buie and Spc. Joshua S. Marcum.

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Arkansas Guardsman killed in Iraq laid to rest

By Connie Farrow

Associated Press

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — An Army National Guardsman killed in Iraq was remembered Wednesday as a hero who wanted nothing more than to be a good soldier.

Gray clouds hung heavy in the sky as family, friends and fellow soldiers said goodbye to Spc. Jeremy W. McHalffey, who was buried with full military honors.

A second member of his Arkansas-based unit, Spc. Joshua Marcum of Evening Shade, Ark., also was buried with military honors Wednesday.

McHalffey, 28, of Springfield, and Marcum were among three Arkansas National Guard soldiers killed Jan. 4 when their Humvee was hit by a roadside bomb in the al-Shaab district of Baghdad.

“Jeremy is just a true American hero,” Maj. Gen. Don C. Morrow said after the internment service at Missouri Veterans Cemetery. “He exhibited great courage in going forth and doing his job.”

Morrow, who is the adjutant general of Arkansas National Guard, never met McHalffey.

“But I didn’t have to know him personally,” he said. “I know he was a soldier. I know what kind of job he did.”

McHalffey and four fellow soldiers were working to clear a route when the blast occurred, Morrow said.

Cpl. Jimmy Buie of Floral, Ark., also was killed. The two other soldiers were recovering from injuries.

They were with the the Arkansas National Guard’s 2nd Platoon, Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 39th Infantry Brigade. They had been roommates at the company’s base at Camp Gunslinger.

McHalffey graduated in 1995 from Springfield’s Central High School. After serving four years in the Marine Corps, he returned to the Ozarks and worked for the Greene County Sheriff’s office.

McHalffey yearned to be in the military again and fight in Iraq, his brother, Mike McHalffey, said earlier. He attempted to re-enlist in the Marines but was told it would be months before he would be deployed.

He instead moved to Little Rock, Ark., where he worked in law enforcement and joined the National Guard, Mike McHalffey said. He was deployed in October to Iraq and worked as a security guard.

More than 100 people — including members of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps — attended the funeral service. His flag-draped casket then was escorted by a Greene County Sheriff’s patrol car to the cemetery.

Soldiers fired synchronized rounds for a 21-gun salute and ‘Taps’ was played as a final military farewell.

Sobs could be heard throughout the stone shelter as the flag was carefully folded and presented to McHalffey’s parents. They also received their son’s Purple Heart and Bronze Star medals, as well as the Arkansas distinguished service medal.

“It drives home the point that each of these soldiers are individuals, and each has a family,” Morrow said of the turnout. “The loss of each leaves a tremendous void in the lives of these families and in their Guard family as well.”