Charles Komppa laid to rest

ABSAROKEE - A few days before his death in Iraq, Charles "Chuck" Komppa sat down and wrote a letter to his father. He talked about his sense of duty to his country, his faith in God, and his belief that being in Iraq would lead to a brighter future for the Middle East.

There was something else, too. He wanted to say thank you.

"I feel like I still haven't told you enough about how much I appreciate you in my life," the sailor wrote before his death on Oct. 25. "If I relate to my kids even half the love you have shown me as a son, then their lives will be better."

The words capture something of what made Komppa so special, his brother, Steven Komppa, said to hundreds of mourners at Komppa's funeral Saturday in Absarokee.

"He set a standard for how to treat people," he said.

The funeral filled the 300-seat sanctuary at the Absarokee Evangelical Church, where Komppa attended weekly services with his wife, Delisa, and children Alicia, 14, and Gary, 11. Overflow seating was available for about 100 people in the church's fellowship hall.

Komppa, 35, was deployed to Iraq in September with his U.S. Navy reserve unit of Billings-based Seabees, a combat construction battalion. The petty officer second class was traveling to a Marine base in the Haditha area, in Anbar province, when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. Four other occupants, all Marines, were also killed.

Komppa - an electrician at the Stillwater Mine in Nye before he was activated - was to assess electrical wiring at the base for planned upgrades. The new details about his death were released in the citation accompanying his Purple Heart.

Speakers remembered him as a hard worker, a jack-of-all trades who quickly picked up new skills, and a dedicated family man who loved spending time with his children. He also was praised for his deep sense of patriotism: Komppa chose to re-enlist in the Navy reserves in June, knowing his unit would be mobilized July 17 and eventually sent to the war.

He told family members he wanted to stand by his fellow sailors.

Allen Solheim, the church pastor and a close friend, praised Komppa's "compassion, care, warmth, (and) giving and gentle spirit." He asked family and friends to remember that for all their grief, Komppa died doing what he loved, for a cause he believed in.

"He faced the possibility of not coming home," Solheim said. "There was never a moment that Chuck ever wavered - never. He was a sailor at heart."

The night before Komppa left for the Middle East, the sailor called Solheim and asked if he could borrow some of his sermons. He wanted to provide spiritual guidance for fellow service men and women in times when a chaplain was unavailable, Solheim said.

Petty Officer 1st Class Stan Morris read notes from two sailors serving in Iraq.

"(He) did make a difference," wrote Lt. Sheila Stenzel, a member of his unit.

"Every person he worked with, every person he simply came in contact with, is a better person because of him in the smallest of ways," she wrote, noting his enthusiasm for his job and the genuine pleasure he took in helping the Marines improve their outposts.

Petty Officer 1st Class Jay Williamson remembered Komppa as the consummate professional, able to make "desperately needed repairs" without proper tools or parts.

"I never saw Chuck get worked up or get angry over anything," Williamson said. "He would look at me, smile and would say in his low and calm voice: 'I had an anger-control moment.' "

The reserve unit pledged to complete work on the Komppa family home, which was all but gutted when it was purchased last summer. Komppa was only half-finished with renovations when he was called to Iraq. Local contractors also have offered to pitch in.

A motorcade brought Komppa's body to Rosebud Cemetery, past dozens of Navy personnel saluting in their dress blues and storefronts decorated with flags and yellow ribbons. Families gathered at intersections and waved, many with flags in hand.

Motorcyclists from the Patriot Guard Riders, a group dedicated to honoring fallen soldiers, were among the vehicles in the lengthy procession.

The burial service was conducted with full military honors, including a 21-gun salute. A bagpiper played "Amazing Grace" while Navy personnel lifted the flag from Komppa's coffin. A three-man team folded it in silence before presenting it to Delisa Komppa.

She sat flanked by her children through the service. After it concluded, she joined mourners gathered around the casket, and she drew her hand across it.

"I'll see you later," she said.

Sailors also took turns approaching the casket to pay their respects. One knelt and rested his forehead against it. Another left a small tribute - the belt buckle Komppa presented him upon his retirement - before quickly turning away.

The family was presented with a shadow box containing medals Komppa earned in Iraq. They included the Navy Achievement Award, the Iraqi Campaign Medal, the Purple Heart and the Global War on Terror medal. Gov. Brian Schweitzer, Sen. Max Baucus and Rear Adm. Robert L. Phillips, the commander of the First Naval Construction Division, which oversees Komppa's battalion, were among the dignitaries present.

As the attendees dispersed, Gabriel Siebert, 11, and Christopher Lanaghan, 13, helped their fathers take down more than 80 large flags that lined the graveyard. Their Laurel-based Boy Scout troop "donated" the flags, which are usually reserved for fundraising events in Laurel.

"This is where they belonged today," said Christopher's father, Bob Lanaghan.

From the Billings Gazette

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