Joshua Booth laid to rest

BEDFORD, Va.— It was fitting that the legacy of Josh Booth yesterday was etched into the heart of this small Virginia city.

The Marine from Sturbridge, Mass., always loved his return trips here.

And as his funeral procession rolled yesterday past hundreds of people who lined Oakwood Street, many of them were waving small American flags or standing with hands over hearts.

2nd Lt. Joshua L. Booth, 23, promoted yesterday to 1st lieutenant, was killed by a sniper’s bullet on Oct. 17 while serving in Iraq.

He left a wife, Erica, and a small daughter, Grace Mackenna. The couple has another child, Tristan Joshua, on the way.

“I served at the end of World War II,” said Tom Clark, 79. “I appreciate anything that anybody does to protect their country. It’s not a question of whether we politically want to do it. There are times we have to join together as a community.”

Along the street were veterans, middle school children and just plain folks who wanted, in some way, to pay their respects.

“I believe time will show that they have adopted him now,” Clark said.

Booth, who was born in Virginia but grew up in Massachusetts, had told his father that he wanted to be buried in Bedford, where he often came as a youngster to visit his grandfather and great-grandfather.

Booth considered himself a proud Virginian.

Inside Bedford Baptist Church, Booth’s funeral service was an exercise in the precision that he learned as a cadet at The Citadel, a South Carolina military college, and in the Marines.

Before his funeral service started, cadets and Marines solemnly filed in, filling several rows of pews within the church.

Several young mothers carried small children, including a toddler who made too much noise for the occasion and had to be carried out.

Eight bouquets of flowers stood beside the pulpit.

As the funeral service neared, the organist played “America the Beautiful,” “Onward Christian Soldiers” and “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”

Marines escorted members of Booth’s family to their seats.

When Booth’s coffin arrived, carried by Marine pallbearers, it was preceded by bagpipers playing “Amazing Grace.”

Lt. Ron Nordan, U.S. Navy chaplain, started the service by praying and reading several verses of Scripture before Booth’s family, friends and fellow Marines stood to pay tribute to him.

He was remembered as an uncle, a brother, a Marine and faithful husband and son.

“I knew him as Uncle Josh,” said Nicholas DeVera, his nephew. “He was more like a brother than an uncle to me. He was my best friend. I will never forget you. I miss you. I will love you forever.”

Melissa DeVera, Booth’s sister, said her brother loved his country and loved the Marines.

“I will tell your children what a hero their daddy was,” she said.

Lance Cpl. Jean Keating, who attended The Citadel with Booth, said his family and the Marines were his life.

“That’s why he lived, so he could serve and make everybody happy,” she said.

Marine Sgt. Jeremy Johnson, Booth’s childhood friend, remembered him as an authentic patriot.

“At a time that patriotism had not permeated through our society, Josh was a patriot and still loved his country,” he said. “Because of that, he conflicted with a lot of people in our school. But he had no problem with that.”

Col. Greg Boyle, Booth’s commanding officer, remembered him as a capable Marine officer.

“We were so blessed to have such a fine young man serving in our ranks,” Boyle said. “I could not have asked for any better officer or any better man.”

“Josh was an angel sent to touch our hearts,” said his uncle, Blackburn Booth.

During his visits to Bedford, Josh Booth’s grandfather and great-grandfather would tell him stories about the “Bedford Boys,” a local National Guard unit that lost 19 soldiers on D-Day in World War II, the most sustained per capita by any city in the United States.

Josh and his father, John, were talking about that battle when they visited Bedford’s National D-Day Memorial before it officially opened six years ago.

“It was a lot of fun,” John Booth said. “Most of the monuments were already there. We had most of the place to ourselves.”

One monument showed soldiers approaching German pillboxes on Normandy’s beach in landing craft.

“I said to Josh, ‘Can you imagine how difficult it was when the ramps on those assault boats dropped and the 20-year-olds saw that?’ ” his father said. “What was going through their hearts and minds and their soul? How could they survive?”

Josh Booth answered by saying he had decided to be a Marine and he was determined to one day be “courageous under fire.”

“He said, ‘I’m going to defend my country and do everything I can do to face my enemy face-to-face and fight him,’ ” his father recalled him saying.

Josh Booth was buried in Bedford’s Longwood Cemetery on a chilly autumn afternoon.

At his graveside, he was promoted from second lieutenant to first lieutenant posthumously and was awarded the Purple Heart.

From the Worcester Telegram

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