Courtland Kennard laid to rest

STARKVILLE - Most all of the fellow soldiers, friends and family coming together Saturday to remember U.S. Army Sgt. Courtland Anshun Kennard say he came into their lives in different ways.

One family friend, Rubbie Corley-Bradshaw, met Kennard on a school bus in Germany. And Army Sgt. Sharhonda Dunlap came across Kennard while the two were standing in line waiting to being shipped off to Korea.

But all of them recall his bravery, dedication and love for life.

“He just had this greatness about him ... a spirit or presence about himself,” Dunlap told a packed church at Mount Peiler Missionary Baptist Church in Starkville Saturday afternoon during Kennard's funeral.

Kennard, 22, a Starkville native, was killed while serving with the U.S. Army's 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade in Baghdad, Iraq, Nov. 9. An improvised explosive device exploded on the side of a Humvee Kennard was driving, and he died at a Baghdad hospital.

Although Kennard, whose father was also in the military, left Starkville before he graduated from high school, the family always maintained close ties to the city, which was listed as Kennard's home when the Department of Defense announced his death.

“A few days ago I had to make the phone the call that all commanders hate to make,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Frank Rangel, commander of the 720th Military Police Battalion, told the congregation. “And one phone call is too many ... but we must do everything we can to honor his memory.”

“Courtland grew up right before my eyes,” said Corley-Bradshaw, herself a retired soldier, recalling the long relationship she's had with the Kennard family.

“He was having the time of his life,” she added, noting his love of military service.

“He fought a good fight. He kept the course,” Corely-Bradshaw, continued to amens and weeping from the congregation of more than 300.

“Children learn what they live, and Courtland chose to be a soldier,” said Corely-Bradshaw, recalling Kennard's father Douglas Kennard, a 21-year Army veteran.

And for Dunlap, who had taken Kennard and at least a dozen other soldiers “under her wing,” was distraught when she learned Kennard was headed to Iraq.

“When he told me, my heart hit my feet, because I knew he wasn't coming back,” said Dunlap.

“I told him, ‘make sure that if there's something you have to tell anyone, you tell them now,'” Dunlap recalled.

And other friends remembered Kennard in a flash of thousands of moments.

“He was just one of the best,” said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. John White, speaking after Kennard was buried at Memorial Gardens on a sloping Oktoc hillside in fading dusk. “He was a great guy, and I'm really going to miss him.” The two met while Kennard was living in Germany while his father was stationed there.

“Memories, memories, memories - and when I remember all of our memories together, I have to laugh,” said Corely-Bradshaw.

“People come into our lives for seasons and reasons, and today I am celebrating my life, because Courtland came into my life not just for a season, but for a reason.”

Kennard's survivors include his parents, Douglas and Darlene Kennard of San Antonio, Texas; brother Jamar Kennard, 19, who is a student at St. Philips College in San Antonio; and grandparents, Emma Kennard and C.D. and Luevenia Simmons, all of Starkville.

From the Commercial Dispatch

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