No greater Love is there than this...

Here are two pictures from the funeral for Chris Walsh. As I said he was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq on September 4. The scene was the most moving thing I can recall in my recent memory. One hundred and fifty firefighters and EMTs came over from St Louis and the Navy and Marines helped to give Chris a fitting tribute that surely would have made this modest young man go and bury his head in the sand from embarrassment. Flags lined the church yard and it made me so very proud of Chris, proud of my church, proud of my city and proud of my country. It truly was the most amazing thing to witness. And in six short weeks, my 23 year old son will depart for the US Air Force. I am certainly proud of him and his willingness to serve his country. God bless Joe, and Sean Patrick Brady(in Iraq), JayBrown (on the border of Afghanistan), Shon Collins(in Iraq), Pat Walsh(just escorted his fallen brother home from Iraq), and Kyle Lippold (the son of an old friend, Kyle is in Iraq) the men who I personally know that are serving their country. There just are not the right words to express my gratitude for their sacrifice. No greater love is there than to lay down one's life for a friend-John 15:13. Thank you men, and all the others serving our country as soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, police, firefighters and of course EMTs, from the bottom of my heart.