Randy Shelton laid to rest

A Schiller Park family on Thursday laid to rest a soldier who died earlier this month in Iraq.

Pvt. Randy Shelton, 22, was killed Sept. 4 by a bomb in Baghdad. NBC5's Sharon Wright reported that Shelton had called family to tell them that he would arrive home on leave on Sept. 11.

Shelton was a graduate of East Leyden High School, and had dreams of going to college and opening his own business.

We're hurting so much," said Shelton's mother's boss, Marilyn Cady. "Every day, she prayed he would be OK."

A Patriot Guard, riding motorcycles, escorted Shelton's body to his final resting place.

"We're just here to honor that man for the service he gave to our country," said Fred Vukadinovic, a veteran. "Ultimately, with his life."

Shelton's casket was swaddled in the American flag and was carried into St. Gertrude Catholic Church, surrounded by sorrow and salutes. Shelton's mother's colleagues wore Shelton's picture close to their hearts.

"She was always talking about how he was her baby," said another co-worker, Teresa Jackson. "She was very proud of him."

Shelton was buried in Elmhurst.

From WMAQ 5

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