9/11 Hero …Why? …Hope

9/11 Hero …Why? …Hope
Remembering one of the lives lost on 9/11… 2005
Army Special Jeremy Campbell
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http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jmcampbell.htm

Text of My Obituary for Jeremy Campbell, given at a public Memorial service at Wellsboro High School on September 18, 2005
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Today is a day to remember. Even in our deep grief, we have come here to remember in love how Jeremy Campbell has touched each one of our lives. And with our deepest gratitude, we give thanks for Jeremy’s life and his courageous service in defending our freedom. In especially difficult times like these, we can find solace as remember God’s promises to us in the Holy Scriptures. Reflecting upon these, we can be comforted by what God has in store for those who cling to his grace. So even in our grief, we can be strengthened in our faith to remember in love and in hope.

 

We begin by remembering in love. When Jeremy came to Tioga County at the age of 13, he had already weathered some very difficult storms of life— having lost his Mom and Dad. But, when he came to the Wellsboro community and to the home of his step-grandparents Phyliss and Aaron Wilbur, this place became his shelter in the storms of life. And he quickly established himself as the fun-loving youngster so many of us knew. His infectious smile was contagious and he made friends quickly. He enjoyed the good life of a Tioga County youngster.

 

In his Middlebury neighborhood, he spent hours with Kyle and Kirk, and Donnie and other friends hunting and fishing. They also spent hours in target practice. Some of the pictures in today’s program show Jeremy and his friends doing what they did best—being active and having fun! The fun times with his friends were only bested by the time he spent with his granddad Aaron. It was Aaron who was with him when he got his first deer and wild turkey. They also went Elk hunting in Colorado.

 

In August 2000, Mr. Kevin Post and I had the fun of taking a few young people from our church on a trip to NYC. Jeremy was one of those young people. (A friend in the church gave me some pictures of this trip and it brought back some great memories.) I remember the reaction that Jeremy had when we drove into the inner city on our way to Yankee Stadium. Let’s just say, he noticed that it was quite a different world from Tioga County. I also remember the Yankees won that day and the kids enjoyed the offensive slugfest but they also were quite impressed with the size of the stadium and the amount of people all crammed into one place. (There might have been more people in that stadium than even live in our wonderful county.)

 

After spending an evening on the Long Island Shore, we settled down in the church that we were camping out in for the night. And it seemed that as I started to get sleepy, Jeremy and the others got a second wind. There were some pretty funny pranks that night (the kids never let you forget that stuff, do they?). And over the years, it seemed that Jeremy and the others remembered that time as much as the game. The next day we headed to the city again and after taking a Subway ride, we ended up at the World Trade Center. I have in my hand a picture of the crew that day with the outline of the Twin Towers in the background. It’s hard to believe that by the next year, the towers were no more!

 

Jeremy was also involved in activities at school — like tennis and the school newspaper. He also worked for part-time for Mike Goodwin at Laurel Lanes. Everyone says that when Jeremy got excited about something, he worked toward a goal. And after going to a youth police training camp, he came back with a renewed goal to join the Armed Services, which he gladly did right after graduation from this High School. In just a short time, he became a highly decorated soldier and was well-respected by his fellow soldiers and commanding officers.

 

After serving one tough tour of duty in Iraq and overcoming a serious injury to his hearing which happened during a training mission, he wanted to go back. I believe that one of the reasons was his commitment to the call of duty. I remember talking with him about this between his two deployments. The last time I saw Jeremy, he stopped in to my office for a chat. I will always remember how impressed I was with the kind of soldier — and young man— he had become. After one tour of Iraq, he was realistic; but still determined to be the best soldier he could be. He talked about more training and pursuing a career in the Armed Forces.

 

There was also another big reason he went back to Iraq for a second tour: his love for his new wife Maddison who is also in the military and was scheduled to be serving in that region at the same time. (So let’s keep Maddison in our hearts and prayers in the days to come). And as we seek to hold up one another in the midst of our grief, let me share with you three words that so many of us are considering in these difficult days.

 

The first word is HERO. Hero… is a word that should be used sparingly in our day-and-age, but it is certainly a word that applies to Army Specialist Jeremy Campbell. On September 11, 2001, our nation was tragically re-acquainted with the word HERO when we watched brave men and women courageously enter burning buildings. Sadly, some never returned to us again. They were ordinary people who performed their jobs with extraordinary courage. And many gave the ultimate sacrifice. And so on that day a little over four years ago, a grateful nation learned firsthand just exactly what heroes are made of. On September 11, 2005, Army Specialist Jeremy Campbell reminded us — a grateful and loving community of Wellsboro— just exactly what heroes do. An ordinary young man from Tioga County– serving his country and the fledging democracy of Iraq– in a moment’s notice called to perform with extraordinary courage. And in so doing, he gave the ultimate sacrifice. And so on THIS day, the Wellsboro community, Tioga county, The Commonwealth of PA and a grateful nation recognizes just exactly what a hero looks like. We are here today to honor Jeremy as a hero.

 

Charles Colson, writes about the importance of remembering the heroes of ordinary life this way: “… [On] on a beautiful September morning, four teams of terrorists commandeered passenger planes, turning them into weapons. “Ordinary” men and women sprang into action, and heroes emerged…Catastrophic crimes like the attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon may not happen every day, thankfully. But every day police and fire departments answer calls that put officers and firefighters into harm’s way…Suddenly, the middle-class… protectors of public safety are the kind of people …(we) want to see on…(a) Wheaties box—a place of honor reserved for athletes. Heroes making sacrifices have not changed. We have changed – we now recognize them.”

 

And I believe Wellsboro has changed too. We have responded to the passing of Wellsboro’s fallen hero in a united way. I know I express the grateful sentiments of Jeremy’s family and friends in saying thank you to everyone here. And we will never forget Jeremy’s courageous service. And right now, we can pray for and recognize those heroes still with us—those men and women who have taken a solemn oath to protect our community and nation—our police officers, fire fighters, National Guard and those we know in the military serving all around the world, especially in Iraq and Afghanistan. Without our heroes, our nation would not be as strong as it today!

 

The second word that keeps coming into my mind and perhaps your mind as well is … WHY? A few years ago, I saw a billboard sponsored by the United Methodist Church. The billboard said: FOR ALL THOSE DAYS THAT END IN WHY. That pretty much sums up the sentiments of so many of us in the days since we have heard the tragic news… days that have ended in WHY.I don’t pretend to know the full and complete answer to such profound and heart-wrenching questions.

 

And, I recognize that there are other faith traditions here today. I respect these different viewpoints, but please allow me to simply share with Jeremy’s family and friends WHERE I go when I am wrestling with some of these deepest questions of life. I believe that it is no coincidence — that over 2,000 years ago on a wooden Cross on a hill they called The Skull– Jesus Christ, who I believe is the Lord of Heaven and Earth, hung on that Cross of shame and death and cried out in a loud voice, “My God, My God, WHY have you forsaken me?” For Jesus Christ, it was a day that ended in WHY.

 

As I struggle with the WHY questions of life, I keep coming back to these words of Jesus. And I keep coming back to an image that I first saw in the newspaper shortly after the tragic days of September 11th 2001. That image is now helping me deal with the tragic loss of Jeremy on September 11th 2005.

 

Here’s how one newspaper described the image: “Working in the rubble of the once proud and towering edifice of the World Trade Center, [a ] relief worker… was captivated by the sight he saw. Two days after the September 11th attacks, he was carefully working through the debris, when his eyes fastened on a perfectly symmetrical, 20 feet high cross fashioned from steel girders that had landed perfectly upright in the debris. [He] said: “I was overwhelmed by it really.” Using spray paint, he marked a nearby wall with the words God’s House and an arrow pointing the way. Word spread rapidly of [the] find. Exhausted and emotionally overwhelmed rescue workers flocked to God’s House to pray and meditate. [Another] … rescue worker at the site said he hoped that people would find direction in the symbolism of the cross. He said that for many of the rescue workers it “reinforced their faith in God that God’s here for them.”

 

You see, in the midst of the rubble of this world and the profound grief of our community, may I suggest to you that the Cross stands tall as a beacon of hope in the debris of life… It tells of a God who is still with us! And although we may still be standing in the midst of life’s debris — and suffering in the anguish it brings– it helps me to know that God wants to be here with us. And the Cross assures me that God has not abandoned us even if we cannot understand what is going on around us.In Philippians 2, The Apostle Paul describes the supreme sacrifice of Jesus this way:He humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!To the question of WHY, that verse says to me: God too has tasted death in his Son Jesus Christ… and God too paid the ultimate sacrifice to overthrow evil… and as I embrace the Savior who hung on it for my sins, I believe I can be forgiven and have the sure hope of life eternal. That is how I begin to deal with the WHY questions of life.

 

And, I respect your viewpoint if it differs from mine.

 

I am sure that no matter your viewpoint, you will agree with me that as a community we have to pull together and support those who are grieving. We are all called to grieve with those who are grieving. And, this brings me to a final word that has been going through my mind since I heard the tragic news of Jeremy’s untimely passing.

 

And, I specifically address this final word to the family and friends and all those in our community who share a common Christian faith. Thankfully, we Christians believe that the day that ended in WHY for Jesus on Good Friday… Was followed three days later by the dawn of a new day on resurrection Sunday! That is why the Apostle Paul says in Romans 8: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

The final word I want to share is… HOPE. Christian hope is founded upon the promise of resurrection in Jesus Christ. In closing, as a Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I am called to proclaim the hope of the resurrection. As I often do in services of remembrance and funerals, I would like to paint a picture for you of the hope that Christians possess by telling you how the great British Statesman Sir Winston Churchill proclaimed the hope of resurrection at his funeral.Churchill instructed that after the benediction, a bugler, positioned high in the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral, play TAPS—the universal signal indicating that the day is over. But then came the most dramatic part, Churchill instructed that another bugler, on the other side of the dome, play the notes of REVEILLE—the universal signal that a new day had dawned and it’s time to arise. Churchill was testifying that in the end, the last note of history for him would be REVEILLE, a new beginning. And Reveille is the final note for all those who trust in Christ and look to resurrection!Thank you for listening. As a proud community, let’s remember Jeremy’s life and his dedicated service for us. And, let’s look for practical ways to comfort one another in the days to come.