The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
by Dessa Rodeffer, Quill Publisher
La Harpe - Strong emotions were in everyone's hearts Thursday, (April 10th) as the High School Gymnasium was filled with family, friends and patriots who were reminded of the high cost of freedom.
At only twenty years of age, one of La Harpe's sons had lost his life serving as a "Freedom Fighter" in the first week of America's War to liberate the Iraqi people and rid the country of the cruel regime of Saddam Hussein.
Nearly 1200 people came together to remember, pay tribute and to mourn the passing of Cpl. Evan Tyler James, son of Michael and Donna James of La Harpe.
The crowd stood as Rev. Robin Thompson led the procession of six U.S. Marines who were bearing the casket of their fellow Marine which was draped with the flag of the United States of America.
We have gathered "to pay our respects to a young man who lived life to the fullest, a young man who served his nation, a young man whom his family, his community and his country can love and respect as a genuine hero."
Rev. Thompson said Evan thought of himself as an ordinary person who went to school, went to work and went to the gym. If he "could say one thing to us now, he'd say, "You're making too big a fuss of this whole thing, just go back to work or go have some fun."
"Yet we are here because Evan was not just an ordinary person. He was a young man who impacted the lives of more people than he would have ever thought possible."
He elaborated on Evan's ACTIVE life. One incident he told was of Evan at nine. He was determined to catch a squirrel in a tree and moments later came out of that tree with the squirrel, arms scratched and bleeding. He told of his passion for weight lifting so he would not stay little but become strong.
Second, Rev. Thompson said he was AMBITIOUS. He "knew what he wanted and he was willing to work hard to achieve that goal. He worked with his dad, he detassled corn, was a lifeguard at the pool, helped his parents remodel their entire house, and he had a personal goal to own and operate his own gym. Their is no doubt that he would have achieved his goal.
Evan was also PEOPLE-ORIENTED. While he saw himself as quiet, others saw him as "a social butterfly. He constantly challenged others and took challenges. He was involved with the young kids as a lifeguard. His college friends saw him as someone who would always listen, who "was always super friendly, "a genuinely nice guy."
The last word, he said best described Evan - "he was a MARINE."
Like hundreds and thousands of other young men and women, Evan volunteered to serve his country by enlisting in the armed forces. There was the financial incentive for paying his education, but "during basic training Evan began to realize that there was something different about the Marines: something about being the best of the best; something you could be proud of."
"One of his proudest moments was when the Marines promoted him to the rank of corporal. So when the Marine Reserves were activated and sent to Kuwait, Evan was proud to be able to serve his country."
"Think about what it means to be on active duty in the military today. Our troops love America, yet they spend years far from her shores. They defend their own right to live as individuals, yet yield their individuality to that cause. They value life highly, yet they are ready to die in the service of their country."
Rev. Thompson said, "I believe that God understands the heart and mind of a soldier more than most people realize. Why do I say that?"
He told how in the Bible "hosts" means armies and that God is our heavenly Commander-In Chief whom we are to obey.
From the Bible, he said "we know that Jesus valued the mind-set that only a soldier can bring to Christianity".
"There are many parallels between what a soldier is asked to do and what Christ asks the Christian to do: We are asked to serve our Savior, to obey His orders, to fight and defeat our supernatural enemy, to protect our brothers and sisters in Christ while doing so, and to be willing to lay down our lives in order that others might be free from the tyranny of our enemy, the devil."
"Paul writes in Phillipines 1: "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know. I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and to be with Christ, which is better by far, but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body."
Rev. Thompson said that the word DEPART meant "lift the anchor" by the Roman sailors who were in a foreign harbor. "It was an order those sailors looked forward to obeying because it meant they could finally begin their long journey back to their home port."
A second meaning for DEPART was "to strike the tent" or "to break camp". The Roman soldiers in the field looked forward to hearing this order given for it also meant they were to begin the long march home where family was waiting.
"By using the military word depart, Paul teaches us that death is when you and I receive our marching orders which allow us to finally go home and be reunited with our loved ones who are waiting for us."
He said Jesus compares heaven to a permanent home in John 14: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in Me. In My Father's house are many rooms, if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you may also be where I am."
On Good Friday, "God learned what it is like to have a son die in combat far away from home. That is why our heavenly Father understands the grief, the sadness, and the hurt you feel over Evan's death."
"Only our God could take Good Friday and turn it into Easter Sunday," he said. "Our God can turn death into life.....defeat into victory. And because our God can do that for us, just as Jesus was willing to die to make men holy, may we, and our children, always be like EVAN Tyler JAMES, who was willing to die to make men free."
"Because of the hope Jesus gives to us today, when we walk away.....from the cemetery, that does not mean we are saying goodbye to Evan, but merely, "See you later".
In song, accompanied by Andrea Ferguson, Charissa Thompson sang "Heaven Has The Ones I Love."
by Dessa Rodeffer, Quill Publisher
LaHarpe - Aunt Diane Kornegay of La Harpe, told in a Eulogy Thursday , that Evan touched many people with his friendly nature and teasing smile.
"It has been amazing the number of people that have been touched by Evan in some form or another but not surprising," she said.
"He was more than my nephew. He went through life like an ordinary child and grew into an extraordinary young man. He would disagree and think we are all making a big deal about nothing, but he was wrong. He was a big deal."
"Since finding out about Evan we have cried many tears for our loss, but we have also laughed because of the wonderful memories Evan left us with. So as we mourn the loss of Evan, an amazing young man, we also celebrate his life because that is what he would want."
She said as a Marine he was "one of the finest" As a family members, "he was the one who made us laugh.
"He worked hard at whatever he decided to do, but he also made it fun. He knew the importance of a hard day's work but balancing that with enjoying life.
Diane said he would do anything for you if you needed something. "Some projects I know he wondered why. You always knew if he was going to take the time to do it it was going to be done to the best of his abilities. Evan was a hard worker. He had a work ethic that far surpassed his years - something he learned by example, his father's.
"He didn't believe in wasting time. Get up and get it done, and have fun."
Diana shared the times he helped his mother and talked in the mornings and the teasing and horseplay with family members and friends.
"Evan was always challenging us to do more than we thought we could. He had a way of making you believe in yourself and because of that you worked harder."
She reminisced of the many fun things he did including being pictured in Muscle and Fitness Magazine and became a local celebrity. "I don't think there is a one of us who doesn't have that issue and shown it to everyone we know."
"Evan was a young man who had a plan. He was a thinker, and we all watched him grow from the blond headed little boy into a fine young man wise beyond his years. There are so many words that describe Evan. He was responsible, determined, a hard worker, considerate, and thoughtful of others. To the Marines he was one of the finest."
"For most of the world, Corporal Evan Tyler James will be remembered as a war hero, for me Evan was always a hero.
Included in the Eulogy of Diane Kornegay was an email from another La Harpe graduate Corporal Colby Yard. It reads as follows:
DEAR JAMES FAMILY AND FRIENDS,
I'M SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT THE LOSS OF EVAN'S LIFE. WE WERE REALLY GOOD FRIENDS ALL THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL AND HE WAS A BROTHER TO ME AS A UNITED STATES MARINE.
EVAN IS PARTIALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING ME THE MARINE THAT I AM TODAY, FOR HE RECRUITED ME AND GAVE ME THE HEADS UP ON WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE MARINES CORPS.
I WISH I HAD THE WORDS THAT COULD HELP YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT WE DO AS MARINES AND THE PRIDE A MARINE TAKES IN SERVING HIS COUNTRY.
IT IS EXTREMELY HARD FOR ME TO SEE A FALLEN BROTHER, BUT IT'S EVEN HARDER WHEN YOU HAD A HISTORY WITH THAT INDIVIDUAL BEFORE THE MARINE CORPS.
I HATE THE FACT THAT I CAN'T BE THERE FOR ALL THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS, UNFORTUNATELY AS A MARINE, MY JOB HERE IS NOT COMPLETE.
I PRAY THAT OUR HEAVENLY FATHER WILL ASSUAGE THE PAIN OF YOURS AND MY BEREAVEMENT, AND LEAVE YOU THE CHERISHED MEMORIES OF THE LOVED AND LOST.
NEVER FORGET THAT EVAN PAID THE ULTIMATE SACRIFICE FOR HIS COUNTRY. HIS HONORABLE AND UNSELFISH ACTS WILL BE REMEMBERED FOREVER BY THOSE WHO LOVED HIM MOST.
A GREAT AMERICAN PRESIDENT ONCE SAID, "SOME PEOPLE SPEND MOST OF THEIR LIVES WONDERING IF THEY MADE A DIFFERENCE IN THIS WORLD, BUT MARINES DON'T HAVE THAT PROBLEM" (RONALD REAGAN).
MAY CORPORAL EVAN JAMES REST IN PEACE. ONCE A MARINE, ALWAYS A MARINE.
United States Marine Corps
Semper Fidelis
MAG 39 Forward
Corporal Colby R Yard
United States Marines bear the casket of Marine Corporal Evan James, 20 at his funeral last Thursday, April 10th. Over 1200 people came together at the LaHarpe High School gymnasium to salute the hero who gave up his life in Iraq to defend the freedoms that America stands for.
At the La Harpe Cemetery taps were played and Marines performed a 21 gun salute echoed by the La Harpe & Blandinsville American Legion firing squads The Purple Heart was awarded to Cpl. Evan James' parents, Mike and Donna James. -photos by Dessa Rodeffer