Medina honors soldier's last full measure of devotion

Published Sept. 19, 2004
By Jim Carney
Beacon Journal staff writer

MEDINA - Under a brilliant blue sky on a September day in 2004, with a slight chill in the air, Medina said thank you and goodbye to a fallen soldier and hero.

And Medina residents said thank you to all soldiers who are serving their country.

On Medina Public Square, hundreds upon hundreds of people -- men, women and children -- stood in stark silence and respect during the funeral procession of Pfc. Devin J. Grella.

Many of them had waited an hour or more for the procession carrying Grella, Medina County's first soldier to die in Iraq, to his final resting place at the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery in Rittman.

When the police escort finally drove south on state Route 3 to the square, followed by the hearse carrying the flag-draped coffin of the 21-year-old Army Reservist from Medina Township, the only sounds that could be heard were the rumble of the cars and motorcycles, the chirping of birds and, occasionally, weeping.

Susan Becks, 44, of Medina, clutched her late father-in-law's flag in her hand as the procession passed and cried, wiping her tears with a tissue.

``I had to be here,'' she said just a few minutes before the procession arrived from the Medina Chapel of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where the funeral for Grella was held before about 350 people.

The 2002 graduate of Medina High School, the fifth from the Akron-Canton area to die in Iraq, was a member of the Mansfield-based Army Reserve 706th Transportation Company.

He left home for basic training Dec. 30 and arrived in Iraq in mid-June.

Grella died on Sept. 6, 2004, when the fuel truck he was driving was struck by a homemade bomb.

The soldier's family -- parents Dennis and Donna Grella and three brothers, Dustin, Darrin and Drew -- had encouraged people from the community to stand along the funeral route to the national cemetery to show their support for all troops who have already served and are home and those who are still overseas.

Army 2nd Lt. Timothy Searcy, 32, of Baltimore, Grella's platoon leader in Iraq, attended the service, and said Grella ``was very motivated and dedicated to his job. He kind of set an example. He was the lowest-ranking person in his squad but he motivated people who were higher ranking.''

Brother Darrin Grella, 29, of Medina, one of the speakers at the funeral, said the last two weeks had left his family with tender hearts.

``It was an honor to have been his brother,'' he said. ``He was a hero.''

Army Brigadier Gen. William C. Kirkland told those at the funeral that Grella ``honored this country'' by fighting for it.

Kirkland spoke of two rules of war.

The first rule is that when soldiers have to fight for their country, some will die.

Rule two, he said, is that even generals cannot change the first rule.

``I thank you for your sacrifice,'' Kirkland said.

Outside the church, Medina County Sheriff's Deputy Jeff Kulbis, 58, an Army veteran, waited to escort the funeral procession.

One of his sons, Marine Staff Sgt. Ed Kulbis, 28, is home from Afghanistan, and son Marine Lance Cpl. Douglas Kulbis, 22, is serving in Iraq.

The death of Grella, he said, brings the war close to home.

``I feel for the parents,'' he said.

Sitting on a blanket in her front yard on Granger Road, Lindsey Madachik, 20, a University of Akron student and classmate of Grella's at Medina High School, waited to see the procession pass.

She called her friend a hero and recalled his humor.

``His laugh is what I remember most,'' she said. ``He had a great laugh.''

Ray and Darleen Plute of Medina bought 106 small flags from Wal-Mart -- every flag the store had at the time, they said -- and placed them all in their Weymouth Road yard for the funeral procession to see.

Also in their yard was a sign that read, ``Rest in Peace, Devin.''

Grella had dated the couple's daughter, Amanda Plute, two years earlier. Amanda, a freshman at John Carroll University, and Grella were still friends and exchanged e-mail when he was in Iraq, the couple said.

At Medina Public Square, and along the roads near it, there were entire families, fathers and sons, mothers and daughters and even Cub Scouts such as 10-year-old Nick Kelly, a fourth-grader and member of Pack 3411.

``I came here because of an Eagle Scout named Devin died in Iraq,'' the Sharon Township Cub Scout said.

Twenty-six members of the Naval Mobile Construction Force 26 -- the Seabees Naval Reserve group out of the Akron Naval and Marine Corps Reserve Center on Dan Street -- lined both sides of Route 3 and saluted as the procession passed.

``It could have been one of us,'' said Builder 1st Class Stephen Jonas, 32, of Cleveland.

The death of a fellow reservist ``hits home,'' Jonas said.

Many people stood with their hands over their hearts as the funeral procession passed. One man in civilian clothes saluted for the entire 15-minute procession.

The procession included about 50 motorcycles driven by members of Rolling Thunder, a POW/MIA educational and advocacy group. The group attended Grella's services and then held a ceremony for prisoners of war and missing in action at the national cemetery.

As the procession passed, a little girl saw Susan Becks weeping and asked her why she was sad.

Becks, a mother of three, told the girl she was crying because ``that child is not with his mommy anymore.''

Then, she said, the little girl hugged her legs.

When the procession had left Medina Public Square, Becks went to her car.

The Medina Rec Center employee said she remained in her car by herself for a while and thought about how proud she was of Grella and of the entire community for turning out to support him.

And she thought of the extreme silence that overtook the crowd during the procession.

``All of a sudden, it's over,'' Becks said.

``I felt guilt that it's over for me but not for that family.''