Sep 27, 2008 6:46 pm US/Central
A Community Remembers a Fallen Soldier
MELROSE PARK, Ill. (CBS) ―
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Specialist Joshua Harris of Oak Park was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.
Walther Lutheran Academy
Walther Lutheran High School's gym was transformed into a church Saturday by hundreds of people who came to say goodbye to Joshua Harris -- the 21-year-old soldier lying in eternal rest just off of center court.
But this weekend, there were no cheers in Harris's old school -- just tears for a young man gone too soon, as CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reports.
"It's terrible..it's hard. I saw him the day before he left. It's really hard," said friend Jayme Scatchell
Harris, a member of the Illinois National Guard, was killed earlier this month by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.
Just three months before he was killed Harris spoke with CBS 2 as his unit was preparing to leave for Afghanistan.
"Just serving gives something back to the people, the government, the nation. It's just something that everyone should do as a proud American," Harris said.
When Harris was about to deploy, his grandmother, Elaine Forgsgren, spoke of her concerns.
"He will spend his 21st birthday in Afghanistan so we are very sad about that, but our prayers go with him," she said.
He celebrated that birthday, but no one could have known it would be his last.
"His memories can't stop, just keep telling Josh stories," said Harris' father, William.
So Saturday, with one last salute from a brother in arms, Joshua Harris left his former high school for the last time -- escorted on his final journey by his fellow soldiers and the many crying loved ones he was forced to leave behind.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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