Mourners at Patten funeral send soldier to his final rest

PATTEN – Before anyone spoke a word on Saturday at the funeral of Spc. Dustin Harris, it was evident, simply by the little displays in and around the service site, how much Harris meant to the community.

Along both sides of the main road from Patten to Stacyville, where the funeral was held at Katahdin Elementary School, were uninterrupted rows of American flags. The red, white and blue emblems hung limply under the bleak sky and its unremitting rain.

A contingent of bikers from several veterans motorcycle groups stood silently in the school’s driveway, clasping flags they raised in homage to Harris as attendees arrived.

Inside the building, approximately 1,000 mourners were jammed elbow to elbow as a testament to the life of a soldier who was remembered as a protective, well-mannered patriot who loved his family, his friends and his country.

Harris, a Patten resident and member of the Army’s 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, was killed April 6 in Bayji, Iraq. The 21-year-old, stationed at Fort Wainwright, Alaska, was on foot patrol with members of the 101st Airborne Division in Bayji, 150 miles north of Baghdad, when an improvised explosive device detonated nearby, Army officials said.

Harris’ flag-draped casket was encircled by a field of flower bouquets, his official Army portrait nearby. Photographs and accolades that he had won stood in the lobby leading to the gymnasium.

Family members, including his parents, Lorna and Scott Harris of Patten, were seated in a reserved section at the front of the gym.

Gov. John Baldacci and representatives from Maine’s congressional delegation attended Saturday’s service.

Harris’ cousin Tellis Coolong of Bangor told of Harris calling him, his voice bursting with pride, after he earned his jump wings as a qualified paratrooper. Coolong also read from an article about the soldier’s death published in an Alaskan newspaper, which said Harris often would step up to take a dangerous post during convoys.

“He would rather that something happen to him than to someone with a spouse or child,” he read.

Saturday’s service included a slide show of pictures from Harris’ life. They showed the 2002 Katahdin High School graduate dressed in his red-and-white soccer uniform, grinning poolside while hanging out with friends and family, standing beneath a brilliant sun in wraparound sunglasses, a cloudless blue sky above.

While serving in Iraq, Harris garnered a host of awards and medals, including a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and an Army Good Conduct Medal.

Representatives from his Army unit attended the service, and one speaker read notes and letters his comrades had written for the Harris family.

Each writer spoke of a dedicated soldier who was always smiling, took pride in serving his country and was a beloved friend.

Before the service ended, Harris’ high school classmates sang a song from their graduation ceremony in memory of the fallen soldier.

Harris joined the Army in July 2004 and was deployed to Iraq last summer.

The governor ordered flags lowered to half-staff Saturday in honor of Harris.

A private committal service was held at Patten Cemetery after the funeral.