Published: July 30, 2009 08:28 pm      

Morales "out in front," put others first

Fred Edgerton sat in the shade next to his son’s grave at Colonial Hills Memorial Park on Thursday, just a stone’s throw away from where Sgt. Ray Morales would be laid to rest.

“I would say (to the Morales family) that it’s hard, you never get over it,” he said as a light breeze rustled the trees. “It gets easier, but you never get over losing a son.”

Edgerton’s son, Army Sgt. Marshall Lane Edgerton, a 1995 graduate of Northwest Whitfield High School, died on Dec. 11, 2003. He was the first Whitfield County native to be killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Morales is the latest Whitfield casualty. He died on July 21 in a motor convoy accident in southern Afghanistan.

“It was his sense of ‘being on the point’ that spoke of (Morales’) character,” said Father Paul Williams of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, where Mass of Christian Burial was held. “He was out in front leading the convoy to keep the others from danger. He wanted to be out front to protect the men and women he served with.”

Williams told the Morales family, “(Ray’s) OK, he’s with the Lord. That is our faith. He laid down his life for his friends.”

After a 21-gun salute at the cemetery, “Taps” was played. As the final note sounded, a squadron of Black Hawk helicopters broke through an overcast sky and flew directly overhead in a “missing man formation.”

Jennifer Garland traveled from Fairmount to the funeral, although she did not know the Morales family.

“My husband, Timothy Garland, is in Afghanistan with the headquarters company in Calhoun (of the 108th Cavalry),” she said. “I’ve been to five funerals, four with the 108th and one with the 121st. I’m here to show my support, and because my husband couldn’t be here. We’re all like a family, and we need each other.”

Williams said Morales led “a life of service” to his fellow soldiers and his family.

“I appreciate his service, because I have a brother in Iraq,” he said. “We’re praying for all those who are serving, that they’ll come home safely. But when they fall, we give them the utmost honor and respect like we’re doing here today.”