Eric Caldwell has services ahead of burial at Arlington

GLOUCESTER -- Standing at a podium overlooking a flag-draped coffin, the Rev. Douglas Nagel told hundreds of mourners gathered in Gloucester's First Presbyterian Church on Sunday not to think that Army Spc. Eric Thomas Caldwell's life had been taken from him.

To think that, he said amid the soft cries coming from the crowd, would cheapen Caldwell's sacrifice.

And Caldwell was a man who volunteered for the military while the country was at war. He was a man who loved life and cherished his family. It was because of that love that he volunteered. It was because of his family that he knew he could, and was willing to, one day lay down his life for them.

That day came Jan. 7 when the 22-year-old's unit was attacked in Iraq by small arms fire.

Caldwell's death marked the first time someone from the small county just north of Yorktown had been killed in the war.

Because it hit residents hard - both those who did and didn't know Caldwell personally - many reached out to show the family they care.

They paused a moment outside the church when Army soldiers acting as pallbearers carried Caldwell's coffin to the hearse. Military veterans stood at attention and saluted.

On Main Street, the fire department lifted an American flag up a ladder truck for attendants of the memorial service to pass through on their way to the church. The street itself was lined with smaller flags, and small business throughout the downtown region of the county made sure to fly their American flags on their doors.

During his homily at Sunday's memorial service, Nagel admitted to the congregation that while the county's monument memorializing residents killed during the Civil War was a short walk from the church, he couldn't recite any of the names etched in the stone.

But people would remember Caldwell, who, from birth, touched the lives of many.

Caldwell was born in Maryland, a mere 14 minutes before his twin sister, Andrea Caldwell.

According to family members, Caldwell took that 14 minutes seriously and spent years trying to convince Andrea that he was her big brother.

It was one of many examples of Caldwell's humor, a skill he spent hours trying to perfect in hopes of becoming a stand-up comic.

In 1999, Caldwell moved to Gloucester, home to his mother's large family.

Vanessa Caldwell was one of 12 children and Caldwell became one of nearly 30 grandchildren. Through its size and decades of living and owning small businesses in the county, the family remains both well known and respected.

At Gloucester High School, Caldwell became involved in the culinary arts program and learned that he loved to cook.

He loved to eat, too. His love for food was the basis of many family jokes.

Some loved ones even marked their calendars after a rare meal where Caldwell would say he was full.

Upon finishing school in 2003, Caldwell returned to Maryland where he joined the Maryland National Guard.

He learned then that he loved the military and wanted to become a member of the regular active-duty Army. He volunteered for and trained to become a combat engineer.

"We can honestly say he was truly proud to serve," one of his aunts said.

In early 2005, he became a member of the Fort Hood, Texas-based 1st Cavalry Division. By November 2006 he was deployed to Iraq.

Caldwell had been expected home Sunday for two weeks of vacation from the war.

He'll be buried Wednesday at 1 p.m. at Arlington National Cemetery.

And because it's what he would have wanted, the family asks that all memorial donations be made to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington.

Vanessa Caldwell said that in death, Eric Caldwell would have wanted to help his comrades who have been hurt in the fight.

From the Daily Press

Related Link:
Eric T. Caldwell slain by small arms fire