A 20-year-old New Braunfels man killed in action in Iraq is on the last legs of his long journey home.
Lance Cpl. Brandon T. Lara died July 19 in an attack in Al-Anbar province. His remains are scheduled to arrive at Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio at 10 a.m. today.
A motorcade will leave the base between 10:15 and 10:30 a.m. and escort the body to Zoeller Funeral Home.
Sgt. Keith Berry of Duncan, Okla., was with Lara on one of the first legs of Lara’s journey.
“I had the honor and privilege of escorting Corporal Lara from Kuwait to Qatar,” Berry wrote in a letter to the editor on the Herald-Zeitung’s website. “No country treats its fallen comrades as well as the USA. We unloaded the plane and rendered our honors when we picked him up. After we landed in Qatar, a loudspeaker announced his arrival, and everybody dropped what they were doing to pay this young man respect.
“I did not know Corporal Lara, though I am with great comfort for having had the chance to bring him closer to home. This young man is in good hands now. God bless him.”
Governor Rick Perry’s office Friday announced flags in New Braunfels could be lowered to half-staff immediately. They are to be returned to full staff Monday after Lara’s interment at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.
Several New Braunfels residents will be on hand to carry Lara through to his final resting place.
The Texas Patriot Guard Riders will meet today at the New Braunfels Little League Complex at 3565 Loop 337 at 8:10 a.m., deputy state captain Charles Rathgeber said.
“We want the families to know they have support from their community and everybody else,” Rathgeber said. “We’re honoring someone who fell fighting for our country.”
The riders will head to Randolph AFB at 8:30 a.m. where they will meet with the family to follow the motorcade.
Vietnam veteran Dale Maker invites people to join him at 10 a.m. at the Interstate 35 Rueckle Road Exit 184 overpass.
“I’ll be out there waving my American flag,” Maker said. “I have the utmost respect for our servicemen ... I feel that we as free citizens in the United States owe a lot to them ... Freedom is not free and someday we could lose our freedoms.”
Visitation is planned for 4 to 9 p.m. today at Zoeller on 615 North Landa St.
