Daniel Winegeart laid to rest

It was a first for Hardin County, but it was a first no one wanted.

Sgt. Daniel Weston Winegeart, 23, of Honey Island, is the first Hardin County Iraq War casualty since U.S. operations began there in 2003. He was killed on Oct. 17 in Balad, northwest of Baghdad, when his vehicle overturned trying to avoid debris in the roadway for fear that it could possibly be an Improvised Explosive Device. His death was ruled as an accident.

Daniel was riding in the gunner turret position for the 5th Special Forces Ranger Group - the most dangerous position in the vehicle and one in which he volunteered for.

Family, friends and the community gathered on a rainy Thursday this past week at the First Baptist Church in Kountze for Daniel's funeral service.

His father,David, said that Daniel joined the Army in 2002 shortly after graduating from Kountze High School.

"It was his third tour in Iraq. He signed up to go there and he loved his job. They (his unit) were only a handful of guys and they worked well together.When he came home in March 2006, we spoke together and he said he was going to make it (the Army) a career."

His job title was a Senior Specialist Communication Electronics Technician and received a multitude of awards. They included the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint

Service Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Army Service Medal and the Overseas Service Ribbon. He also received parachutist and expert rifle badges.

David said his son was also an avid outdoorsman and he would miss the time they spent together hunting and fishing.

"He told me that not only was I his Dad, but also his best friend," David said.

Daniel played six years of football and is remembered as being the first one to boost the team when the team was down.

"He gave 100 percent in everything he did," David said."People in Kountze are coming up to me and telling us about him.He was tenderhearted."

The plane carrying Daniel's body back home was saluted at Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston as a fire truck's water cannon sprayed the plane. No other planes took off or landed for 10 minutes as a sign of respect.

Residents in Beaumont and Hardin County lined the route this past Tuesday evening where the hearse made its way to Broussard's mortuary in Kountze.

David describes those people as "Americans who care for what our boys are doing there."

Shirley Wilson, chairwoman for Operation Hardin County Cares which sends care packages to military personnel overseas, said all of the soldiers "feel like they're one of our own. We just try to make it better."

The group lit luminarias and passed out flags in Kountze the night Daniel's body returned home for the procession. They also sent flowers and furnished food at the First Baptist Church

for family and friends following funeral services as part of their pledge to support the military.

During the funeral servcie, Pastor Tony Thornton of First Baptist quoted Romans 13:7 to those in attendance.

"Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour." He continued by saying he was proud of the military presence of Daniel's comrades, who assembled for the funeral to honor one of their own.

Kountze Mayor Fred Williams read a proclamation naming Oct. 26 as Daniel Weston Winegeart Day for "His service to his friends, family, the Army, the community and the country that he loved."Daniel's family was also presented with a key to the city.

"He was our little brother. We'd be standing in line, and cracking up because we had little jokes between us that only we knew.We were family; we were brothers," Sgt. Allen Crawford told mourners during the service.

He also recalled how Daniel was a practical joker and recounted a story about how Daniel duct-taped

Crawford to his bunk while in Iraq. He said that Daniel would have wanted laughter at his funeral, not tears. He told the Winegeart family he was sorry for their loss, but that they should be proud of their son.

When Crawford finished speaking, he hugged Daniel's family, including Daniel's 5- year-old nephew who donned camouflage just like his uncle did.

Daniel's commanding officer, Maj. Daniel W. Martin, wrote in a letter to the family that their son was someone he would want his own children to grow up to emulate.

"He died doing what he loved to do. He died with honor, dignity with no regrets, serving his country," said Rev. Robert Hall, who was the last of the speakers during the service.

"How can you be sad for a young man who gave his heart to Jesus Christ and is now reaping the reward? Doing what he loved to do?," Hall asked. "There's a celebration in heaven when he met his commander-in-chief, Jesus Christ.

From the Hardin County News

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