Robert Thomas Callahan laid to rest

GREENSBORO -- The calm morning air, with a crispness hinting at the start of fall, was broken by a rumble in the distance.

Dozens of Harley-Davidsons flying giant American and Army flags turned the corner in Forest Lawn Cemetery that leads to the simple white marble stones marking the resting place of men who served their country.

Behind the Patriot Guard Riders — a group of motorcyclists dedicated to honoring veterans — was a simple gray hearse, carrying a simple gray casket draped in the Stars and Stripes. Sullen-faced men waited. Their uniforms crisp. Their arms folded behind them, ready for the hearse to arrive.

And it began: The burial of Army Cpl. Robert "Bobby" Thomas Callahan. The 22-year-old died Sept. 19, a month into his second tour of duty in Iraq.

While his family looked on, the honor guard from the 82nd Airborne slowly, meticulously removed the coffin and carried it to Callahan's grave, the first belonging to an Iraq war casualty in the cemetery's veterans circle.

"Receive (Callahan) in death as you received him in life," said the Rev. Jim Scherer, Callahan's priest as a at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church. "May your hearts and minds stay open, and he will come to you."

Callahan grew up in Guilford County. He attended Southwest Guilford High School until the 10th grade. He was home-schooled for the remainder of high school and enlisted in the Army at 18.

While stationed in Fort Drum, N.Y., he fell in love with a woman he met on a double-date, Kristen Waltos. She was the date of his friend, but they ended up hitting it off, his family said. The couple married in January.

"I know how lucky he was because he had so much love in his life," Kristen Callahan said Friday. "There are so many faces here. He's lucky because he had (love from) every single one of them."

Bobby Callahan received a posthumous promotion from specialist to corporal, said Ben Abel, a spokesman for Fort Drum. His family said last week that Callahan was expecting a promotion but had not yet received it at the time of his death. During his first tour of duty in Iraq, Callahan was awarded an Army Commendation Medal with valor for saving another soldier's life under enemy mortar fire.

Callahan and his sister, Sarah, loved to sing together.

"He told me if this day were ever to come, that I would sing for him," she said — her voice cracking in emotion — before singing "Amazing Grace." A crowd of nearly 200 listened.

In addition to his wife and sister, Callahan is survived by his father, David Callahan, his mother, Robin Minor, brother, Sean Callahan, and stepfather, Ben Minor.

After his wife and mother were presented with flags, seven riflemen gave Callahan a three-shot salute, and Scherer gave the mourners a chance to say a few words.

"I looked up to my brother more than anything," Sean Callahan said.

Then the bagpipes fired up, again sending "Amazing Grace" across the graveyard.

Slowly the bereaved trickled out. The Army soldiers packed up and left. And the motorcycles rumbled away.

A soldier lay at rest.

From the News Record

High Point family recalls son killed in Iraq

HIGH POINT -- Bobby Callahan wasn't always the best kid.

He dropped out of Southwest Guilford High School in the 10th grade to be home-schooled. He found himself arguing with his parents quite a bit. And he drank.

Then at 18, Callahan decided it was time for a change: He thought the Army might be his savior.

Callahan enlisted and found a home.

"The thing I'm most proud of is how he blossomed," his father, David Callahan, said. "In boot camp, he was talking about quitting. Then, he just turned into a man."

Army Spc. Robert Thomas Callahan died Tuesday in Iraq when the vehicle in which he was riding overturned. He was 22 and stationed in the Baghdad region.

The Army had turned Bobby Callahan's life around, his family said Thursday. He straightened up and apologized to his parents for giving them a hard time during his teenage years.

He had fallen in love and married in January. His wife, Kristen Callahan, lives in Syracuse, N.Y., near where he was stationed. He was able to buy a new car -- an Acura RSX -- something that had meant a lot to him.

"The Army and Kristen really helped him out a lot," his mother, Robin Minor said. "He was a sweetheart. He had a huge heart, was nice to everybody and never met a stranger."

Callahan was assigned to the Fourth Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, part of the 10th Mountain Division in Fort Drum, N.Y.

He had been in Iraq for about a month and was starting his second tour of duty there.

The first time around, he was awarded an Army Commendation Medal with valor for saving another soldier's life while under enemy mortar fire.

In addition to his wife and parents, he is survived by a brother, Sean Callahan, a sister, Sarah Callahan, and step-father, Ben Minor.

Callahan's funeral and burial will likely be next week, family said. They plan to bury him at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Greensboro near other local soldiers.

Callahan's family shared stories Thursday morning about Bobby while waiting for Army officers to arrive.

His mother dotted her tears with a brown T-shirt that Bobby wore during his last visit. It was his favorite and had a picture of a Buddha with the slogan, "For good luck, rub my belly."

His brother pulled out a letter Bobby wrote during his first tour in Iraq. Soft from folding and unfolding, Sean Callahan, 17, keeps it in his wallet.

His sister, Sarah Callahan, recalled how Bobby would come down to Charlotte when he was on leave to visit her at college.

On one such trip, the two didn't bother to tell their mother he was in town, instead choosing to surprise her with a visit at her Guilford County home.

"I walked in the door in front of him and mom said 'Oh, that's a nice surprise,' " Sarah Callahan, 20, said. "Then, when she saw him behind me she just dropped to her knees and he gave her the biggest hug."

He was never lucky with cars, even though he enjoyed them. One time, at an early hour, he went to fill up his car from a fuel tank at the house. He didn't notice it said diesel on it and poured into his regular engine.

"He started the engine up and it blew up," Ben Minor said with a laugh. "He said diesel and gas smell the same."

They talked about how Bobby would tell them the war in Iraq was doing so much good for the people there and how the United States needed to stay until the job was done.

"The kids just worshiped them over there," Sarah Callahan said.

Mostly they talked about what a good man Bobby became after joining the military.

"He was proud of himself for what he did, and he should've been," said his cousin, Christopher Shepherd, 26, of Kernersville. "He went through a bit of trouble in his teen years, and then he joined the Army. It helped him, but he did it on his own."

And about how much he will be missed.

"I guess God needed him more than we did," Robin Minor said.

From the News Record