Beatrice residents turned out by the hundreds Friday to pay respects to one of their own as Spc. Darren Howe was buried at Evergreen Home Cemetery in Beatrice.
Citizens waving flags and holding handmade signs that said “Thank You” lined the funeral procession route as a line of cars several miles long made its way out to the cemetery on the east side of Beatrice, where soldiers from Fort Riley, Kan., conducted military graveside honors.
Howe, 21, died Nov. 3 at Brook Army Medical Center in Texas from injuries he suffered when an improvised explosive device hit the Bradley Fighting Vehicle he was driving on Oct. 17 in Samarra, Iraq.
Mourners packed the funeral service at St. John's Lutheran Church before proceeding to the cemetery.
Derek Klaus, Howe's cousin, read an essay at the funeral titled “Our Protectors.” Klaus said people who serve in the armed forces show courage most people couldn't imagine.
“They love and support their country enough to leave family and friends so you and me can sleep in peace,” Klaus said.
Howe enlisted in the Army Reserves on Sept. 10, 2001, and went on active duty after graduating from Beatrice High School in 2003. He was deployed to Iraq in January. Friends and family remembered him this week as someone who was well-liked and who looked out for others. It surprised few that Howe sustained further injury after the explosion as he tried to free other soldiers from the back of the burning vehicle even as his clothing was on fire.
Joni Bruhn, youth and family director at St. John Lutheran Church, also spoke at the funeral. Howe had been training to serve God and his country all his life, though he probably didn't know it at the time, Bruhn said.
Howe showed bravery a few years ago when he got the attention of a restless youth rally crowd by telling a joke, she said. He showed trust when he climbed to the top of a human pyramid. He showed he knew right from wrong when he talked his friends out of pushing a mattress out of a hotel window at another youth event several years ago.
“We can learn a lot from Darren's training technique: Listen, serve God and follow your heart,” Bruhn said.
Surviving Howe are his wife, Nakia; daughter and son, Shaye-Maleigh, 3, and Gary-Dean, 1; mother and stepfather, JoDee and Greg Klaus of Beatrice; father and stepmother, Steve and Beau Howe of Emporia, Kan.; brothers, Brandon Howe and wife Jennifer of Fairbury, Alex Klaus of Beatrice; sisters, Jenna R. Howe and Becca K. Howe, both of Emporia, Kan.