Trey Bartlett laid to rest

Twenty-five year-old Army Specialist Benjamin "Trey" Bartlett, was killed July 15th in Iraq. Hundreds of friends, family members, and fellow soldiers came to pay their respects as he was laid to rest in Woodland, Georgia.

Hundreds of people packed this tiny church, and the streets outside, to say goodbye to Specialist Benjamin "Trey" Bartlett.

"Didn't know him at all. I know he's a brother. I know that he gave his life for this country. That's all I need to know," said Ralph Walker, a Captain for the Patriot Guard Riders, a national group that shows support at the memorial services of fallen soldiers.

More than three-dozen Patriot Guard Riders from across the state of Georgia accompanied Bartlett's casket to its final resting place, as his closest friends remembered his easygoing personality and his love for Auburn football.

"Somebody that would give you the shirt off his back," said Regina Braswell, a friend of Bartlett.

"You couldn't stay mad at the young man, with that down-home, country, dirty Deep South Southern drawl, and the type of person who no matter what you had to say he was gonna smile and keep driving. He was just a great soldier," said Staff Sergeant Philip Gipson, one of Bartlett's commanding officers.

In recent years, Bartlett dealt with the tragic loss of both parents and his sister. But on this day, everyone here was part of his family.

"It's hard because I talked to him the Friday before he was killed," Erin Elliott said. "He'll be missed, but we know he's happier because he's with his family."

From WTVM 9

Related Link:
Trey (Benjamin B.) Bartlett Jr. dies 'of wounds suffered from a rocket propelled grenade'