ORONO - More than 200 family members, veterans and friends honored an American hero Wednesday.
Army Staff Sgt. Eric Shea Ross was remembered during a funeral at Orono High School by people who knew him as a loving husband, father, son, brother and soldier.
"If there is one word that I could use to describe Eric, it would be ‘kind,’" the Rev. Michael Cox said during the hourlong ceremony in the gymnasium. Ross, 26, graduated from Orono High in 1998.
He was serving his second tour of duty when he was killed Feb. 9 during combat operations in Baqouba, Iraq, a city northeast of Baghdad in Iraq's Sunni Triangle.
Ross’ dedication to his country resulted in his death, and for his military service, the soldier’s family members were presented with numerous medals and commendations on his behalf.
A lengthy procession of vehicles formed to go on to the burial at the Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Augusta. Along the way, firefighters from Veazie and Orono used ladder trucks to form an arch on the Kelly Road with the U.S. flag strung high above the road. Firefighters stood nearby at attention as the procession passed.
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