|
|
Directory
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Patriot Guard Riders Forum
|
|
|
| You are not authorized to post a reply.
|
|
| Author |
Messages |
|
sig22 
Posts: 2854
New Port Richey, Fl. Senior Ride Captain FL State Captain-Retired
 |
| 24 Oct 2006 5:21 AM |
 Alert
|
I send my sincere condolences to the family and friends of Airman 1st Class Leebenard E. Chavis.
May the Lord comfort you in the difficult days ahead.
Godspeed Leebenard.......Godspeed...... |
|
Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there…
RIDING IN HONOR AND LOVING MEMORY OF:
PGR FL Ride Captain (Ret) Tom "Flaman2u" Rowell - 24 Jun 2008
PGR TN member and friend John "SmokyMtnSporty" Deniakis - 09 Jun 2008
"Optimistically pessimistic about life"
PGR GA Ride Captain (Ret) Mike "Deltoid" Bland - 22 Feb 2008
"It's all good"
PGR FL Senior Ride Captain Jack "Jacklok" Loken - 20 Oct 2007
"Take care, ride safe"
Always in our thoughts....Forever in our hearts.... |
|
|
big100hd
Posts: 487
Loudoun County, Virginia
|
| 24 Oct 2006 8:15 AM |
Alert
|
">http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-61014sy0oct24,0,101847.story?coll=dp-widget-news
Hampton man hailed as hero
The airman first class was awarded a posthumous Purple Heart.
BY JENNIFER LATSON
247-4731
October 24, 2006
HAMPTON -- More than 200 airmen and soldiers gathered on the tarmac at Baghdad International Airport a week ago to escort the body of LeeBernard Chavis onto a homeward-bound flight. And on Monday in Hampton, more than 400 people joined Chavis' friends and family to remember the airman.
Those in Baghdad knew the 21-year-old Hampton man as a warrior. In his squad, an elite military police force tasked with clearing dangerous paths so other soldiers could follow safely, Chavis sat in the hot seat, atop an armored truck where he manned a machine gun from a turret.
Chavis was struck and killed by a sniper on Oct. 14 when he left the shelter of the turret to warn Iraqi civilians about what appeared to be a roadside bomb. He was awarded a posthumous Purple Heart for his bravery.
"He was the type of guy you want to go to war with," said Senior Master Sgt. Sam Johnson, who accompanied Chavis' casket on the flight from Iraq.
Johnson joined those gathered in Hampton on Monday at a funeral for the fallen airman.
They recalled a boisterous young man who, in the drum corps at Phoebus High School, played the cymbals with such vigor that he once lost control and sent one sailing over the heads of his band mates.
He was the type of friend who would give you the shirt off his back. And he did. Saeed Williams, 22, wore the black-and-white jersey Chavis gave him one day simply because Williams had admired it.
The Monday after Chavis died, Williams received an Internet birthday greeting Chavis had sent the week before. "He said he loved me, and he couldn't wait to come back," Williams said.
Chavis, an airman first class, graduated from Phoebus High School in 2003. He spent a year trying to decide what he wanted to do with his life before he settled on the Air Force, a path that several of his many cousins had chosen before him.
Air Force Tech. Sgt. Timikia Peden called her cousin - whom family members nicknamed "Nard" - a kindred spirit.
"Even as a young man, Nard had a clarity about right and wrong and what he wanted to do," Peden said. "When the war is no longer an indirect hit, when it hits home, we need to keep that same clarity that Nard had."
Chavis chose one of the most difficult tracks in the Air Force when he joined the 820th Security Forces Group, based out of Georgia's Moody Air Force Base, two years ago. He trained in urban warfare, learned how to navigate using night vision goggles and practiced rappelling from a helicopter. He specialized in using heavy weapons, and he excelled, said the commander of the 820th.
"He was the best of the best," said Col. John Decknick. "Everybody wanted him in that turret."
Chavis is one of 86 Americans to be killed in what has been the deadliest month in two years for U.S. troops in Iraq. He is the first casualty from his unit.
Apart from his military duties, Chavis was an energetic young man who liked fancy cars, snazzy clothes and fast music rhythms.
As a teen, he was a leader in his church's youth music group. At the funeral, the group put on a recording he made one Friday night under the stage name "Lee Boogie"- an upbeat swing number, riffing off the tune of "Yes, Jesus Loves Me."
"When I say 'Lee Boogie,' I want you to boogie!" his voice crooned over the loudspeaker.
In the back row of the crowded church Monday, his closest friends got up and boogied. Then they broke down in sobs.
Williams wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his jersey.
|
|
The patriot volunteer, fighting for country and his rights, makes the most reliable soldier on earth.
Thomas J. Jackson
|
|
|
rmcpeek
Posts: 236
Pittsburgh, PA.
|
| 24 Oct 2006 9:19 AM |
Alert
|
My condolances to the family and friends of Airman 1st Class Chavis. Thank you for your service. God Bless.
|
|
Choke
Pittsburgh, Pa.
US Army 1987 - 1995 |
|
|
partnr
Posts: 443
Rochester Hills, MI
|
| 24 Oct 2006 9:43 AM |
Alert
|
To the family, friends, and fellow service members of Airman
1st Class Leebenard E. Chavis, our thoughts are with you during this time of
loss and sadness.
~partnr
|
|
HHC, 63rd Signal Bn
Phu Bai, Vietnam '68-'69 |
|
|
Kirby
Posts: 652
|
| 24 Oct 2006 11:22 AM |
Alert
|
My Thoughts and Prayers go out to Family and Friends of A1C Leebenard E. Chavis
" Your duty here is done now, as ours will someday be,
so go with Him now, to places only Heros ever see"
...from Heros Reward
Rest in Peace, my Brother
A1C Kirby
USAF Veteran 66-70
Pasadena Ca |
|
|
|
|
VADave
Posts: 8
Bealeton, Virginia
|
| 25 Oct 2006 9:59 AM |
Alert
|
| My thoughts and condolences to the family and friends of A1C Chavis. Thanks so much for your service to our country. |
|
|
|
|
SOMDHOG
Posts: 235
Southern Maryland US Army 1965-71
|
| 25 Oct 2006 5:45 PM |
Alert
|
| Thank you Airman 1st Class Chavis for your service and sacrifice . My thoughts and prayers for the family and friends of this Hero. |
|
Rick Maron
Maryland/ANC Ride Captain |
|
|
diamondice2000
Posts: 132
Lake Norman NC
|
| 26 Oct 2006 9:29 AM |
Alert
|
| My heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Airman 1st cls Chavis. I am so sorry for your loss. Please Know there are SO many who mourn with you. May God comfort you in this time of need. Thank You Leebenard, for your brave and courageous service to our country. You will forever be Honored and Remembered. Rest now in God's arms. Standing by, Diamondice2000: Navy Mom.
|
|
With Honor and Respect,
Proud Navy Mom |
|
|
madjack56
Posts: 261
Rio Rancho, NM
|
| 01 Nov 2006 5:19 AM |
Alert
|
Who said that it was safe in the Air Force? My most profound condolences go out to the family and friends of my brave fellow airman. We blue-suiters get ragged on alot, but I'm damned proud of the job these great guys and gals are doing to serve the cause of freedom.
Lee, rest easy, Bro. We'll take it from here. Aim high. |
|
"It is well that war is so terrible- lest we should grow too fond of it." - Gen. Robert E. Lee, Fredricksburg, VA, 1862
SSgt. Jack Gilbert
60th MAW
Travis AFB, CA
1974-80 |
|
|
wyldhog
Posts: 2282
Northeast, La.
|
| 01 Nov 2006 6:19 AM |
Alert
|
To the family of Airman 1st Class Chavis. What words could possibly help during a time like this?
When we know not what we should pray for as we ought, the Spirit maketh intercessions for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Romans 8:26
So let not your heart be troubled, for your loved one has gone to the place which Jesus has prepared. Stand down soldier, your mission here is complete.
|
|
==============================
When a mans heart is full of deceit it burns up, dies and a dark shadow falls over his soul. From the ashes of a once great man has risen a curse, a wrong that must be righted. We look to the skies for a vindicator, someone to strike fear into the black hearts of the same men who created him. The battle between good and evil has begun. Against an army of shadows comes the Dark Warrior, the purveyor of good, with a voice of silence and a mission of justice. - Steve "Sting" Borden |
|
|
|
| You are not authorized to post a reply. |
|
|
|
ActiveForums 3.6
|
|
|
|