BRAZIL —
A light rain began to fall Monday afternoon, but members of the Patriot Guard Riders stood tall as they held American flags to show respect to Spc. Arronn Fields, who died May 21 while serving his country in Afghanistan.
About a dozen people — Patriot Guard and their family members — lined a driveway at Moore Funeral Home in Brazil, where a visitation was underway for Fields.
“He fought for our freedom. He gave his life. The least we can do is stand and hold a flag out of respect for him. It just touched our hearts,” said Lisa Shouse, whose husband, Jerome, is a Patriot Guard member.
Their three children joined them in holding flags. The family also spent several hours Sunday helping place three-by-five-foot flags along the funeral route.
Fields, 27, specialist with the Indiana National Guard, died as a result of injuries sustained during a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Qal-ah-ye Mirza Jal, Afghanistan.
He had deployed in January with the 381st Military Police Company, 81st Troop Command as part of Task Force Guardian, a multi-unit military police force from Indiana.
A 2003 Northview High School graduate, Fields enlisted in 2006. His family lives in Knightsville.
“He lived life to the fullest. He did what he wanted to do and he enjoyed every day as if it was his last day,” said Bill Pilkin, Fields’ step-father. Fields was proud to be a soldier and he loved restoring cars and fishing. “He did his best at everything he tried,” Pilkin said.
They had their favorite places where they would go fishing together, often Clay County ponds. “We spent every moment we could out on the lakes. That was our time together,” Pilkin said.
Pilkin described Fields as “very quiet. He didn’t speak unless he had something to say. If he had something to say, you listened.”
Fields had attended Ivy Tech for a while after high school, and then decided to enlist. “I think he just wanted to serve and once he got in, that’s what he wanted to do. He wanted to be a soldier,” Pilkin said
Fields completed a tour of duty in Iraq and then deployed in January to Afghanistan. “He paid the price for what he believed in,” Pilkin said. “He believed in freedom so he was willing to lay down his life to make sure that we could do what we wanted to do.”
The family is grateful to the community for its support. “Our hearts are overwhelmed with joy and gratitude to these people. They’ll never know how much they mean to us,” Pilkin said.
The funeral home had several photos of Fields — as a child, high school graduate and soldier. In some, he held onto family members, in others, he had fun with a pet. One display was dedicated to his military accomplishments.
As visitors entered the funeral home, posters honoring him described him as an “American hero” and a “hometown hero.”
A table was covered with a red flag dedicated to those killed in action. It read, “The brave and the free — America remembers.”
Several military personnel also were present at the funeral home.
Among those attending the visitation to honor the fallen soldier were Marion Eveland, who lives near the family, and his daughter, Sandy Jenkins.
Eveland recalled how Fields once borrowed a tiller to plant a garden, and also how he liked to work on old cars. “If he didn’t know something, he went to a nearby mechanic to learn from them,” he said.
Eveland, who retired from the Army, said it was important for him to pay respect to a fellow comrade. “It’s sad. He was a fine boy,” Eveland said.
Jenkins hopes the community effort to remember Fields “shows the family that we support them and gives them a feeling of peace to know the community is backing them.”
She was especially impressed with the effort to place flags along the funeral route. “The flags are so meaningful,” she said.
Also attending the visitation were Joanne and Bob Nance, who know the family through church.
Joanne Nance said she told Fields’ mother, Jackie Pilkin, “We’ve never lost a child and I have no idea what it would feel like, but I thanked her and Bill for their son because now I have my freedom. It’s people like that who keep us free.”
Bob Nance said that “no parent should ever have to bury their kid, no matter what. It just shouldn’t happen.”
Another person attending visitation, Carol Brown, also knew the family through church. Fields “was about the same age as one of our sons.”
She said Fields “was quiet and always pleasant. He was just a really easygoing type of guy.”
The hometown hero from Knightsville “paid the ultimate price,” Brown said. “We could never thank him enough.”
Funeral services are scheduled for 11 a.m. today at the Church of the Nazarene in Brazil. Burial with full military honors will follow at Clearview Cemetery.
Sue Loughlin can be reached at (812) 231-4235 or sue.loughlin@tribstar.com.
Local & Bistate
Related Photos
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God Bless: Bob Nance of Brazil holds a poster of Spc. Arronn Fields after visitation at the Moore Funeral home Monday afternoon. Bob and his wife Joanne are friends of the parents of Spc. Fields.
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Honor guard: A group of Patriot Guard Riders form a gauntlet of Flags at the entrance to the Moore Funeral Home in Brazil Monday afternoon.
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Support: Two Patriot Guard Riders stand in the rain at the entrance to the Moore Funeral Home to honor Spc. Arronn D. Fields Monday afternoon.
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Patriot: Volunteers and members of the Patriot Guard Riders form a gauntlet of Flags at the Moore Funeral Home in Brazil as they honor fallen son Arronn D. Fields.
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Riders: Rain-covered Patriot Guard Rider motorcycles sit in the parking lot of the Moore Funeral Home in Brazil.
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Memories: Army personnel gather in a small room of the Moore Funeral Home in Brazil Monday afternoon during visitation for Spc. Arronn D. Fields.
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Army family: Sgt. Nicholas Shaw (maroon shirt) greets members of his Army family at visitation Monday. Shaw is in the same unit as Spc. Arron D. Fields and described himself as a "hunting and fishing buddy".
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Fields friends: Sgt. Nicholas Shaw (left) and his father Frederic Shaw talk about times with Spc. Arronn D. Fields. The three were "hunting and fishing buddies" according to Sgt. Shaw.
Discussion
Respect for Arronn
Patriot Guard, townspeople show support for soldier, family at visitation; funeral today
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