Published: July 09, 2008 10:38 am         

Fallen soldier honored

NAPPANEE, Ind. — Nappanee Missionary Church was full of small American flags on Tuesday afternoon, which were distributed to community members as they filed into the sanctuary for the funeral of Sgt. Travis K. Hunsberger.

Hunsberger, 24, 5221 Flatrock Drive, Fort Bragg, Fayetteville, N.C., and formerly of Wakarusa, died June 27 after being injured by an improvised exploding device in Afghanistan where he was serving in the U.S. Army as a Green Beret.

“It’s seems like yesterday that Travis made this decision (to join the Army), with all his heart,” said Hunsberger’s uncle Daryl Kauffman, who offered some reflections on Travis.

“In every war in America’s history, there have been people who thought it wasn’t wise” to be involved in those wars, “who wanted to cut and run,” Kauffman said. “This young man decided to run and serve, and I thank him for that.”

Kauffman said that for all of Hunsberger’s awards, the one listed first in his obituary was the bronze star.

“Wow,” Kauffman said. “They’re not given out as cookies, are they? They’re never given out flippantly. They’re always given because they are earned.”

The purpose of the military is to keep evil at bay for as long as possible, Kauffman said.

“But (evil) won’t stop,” he continued, until Jesus comes back to “open up a can of whup,” and end the evil armies of the world.

Hunsberger’s friend and fellow serviceman Louis Morales told those in attendance that Hunsberger “was an incredible person. He was a great guy, and he made everybody laugh.”

Morales said he would always remember Hunsberger’s smile.

“He would even use it to make you feel good about what he was making fun of you about,” he said.

Hunsberger’s brother Kyle said, “He was like a mentor to me. He was the most selfless guy I met in my entire life.”

He then read “The Road Not Taken,” by Robert Frost.

The Rev. Paul Commons said that despite some people’s frustration with the current war, “the story of Travis Hunsberger transcends” the military and politics.

“He has given his life for his country, a country he believed in,” Commons said.

After the speakers shared memories of Hunsberger, the crowd moved to the front of the church, where an enormous American flag was suspended by the ladders of two firetrucks.

Members of the Green Berets supplied a 21-gun salute, and the Rev. David Harper played “Taps.”

Memorial contributions may be made to the Travis Hunsberger Memorial Fund through Farm Bureau Credit Union or Thompson-Lengacher and Yoder Funeral Home, P.O. Box 388, Wakarusa, IN 46573.