Bidding Farewell To a Fallen Son, Soldier

Family, Friends Tell Of Man's Dedication

Staff Sgt. James Aguirre helps fold the flag to be presented to Matthew Wallace's parents at Patuxent Presbyterian Church in California. (By Mark Gail -- The Washington Post)

The parking lot at Patuxent Presbyterian Church was full by 12:45 p.m. Thursday, so cars began lining up along the grassy shoulder of Route 4 in California. Painted on the rear window of one was this:

Cpl. Matt Wallace

served in honor

died in honor

12.27.83 -- 7.21.2006

Their motorcycles nearby, a phalanx of Patriot Guard Riders stood quietly at the church entrance, holding up American flags and turning the sidewalk into a star-spangled passageway. At 1 p.m., the coffin bearing the remains of Matthew Phillip Wallace passed by the riders, into the church lobby, where his Purple Heart medal was displayed on a table.

As the pianist inside the church transitioned from "America the Beautiful" to "Amazing Grace," more than 400 people stood and turned. Pallbearers guided the coffin down the aisle to a space in front of the altar.

"We're here today in a season of skepticism of duty, honor and loyalty," Lanny Clark, pastor of Patuxent River Assembly of God, said at the lectern. "And yet we're celebrating these very ideals shared by many of us and taken personally by Matthew in his young life."

Wallace, 22, died July 21 in a military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, five days after a roadside bomb exploded near his Bradley Fighting Vehicle in Baghdad. Wallace, who enlisted in the Army in 2004 and deployed to Iraq in December, was a gunner on top of the vehicle at the time of the explosion.

He suffered burns on over 95 percent of his body and was evacuated to Germany, where he was later pronounced brain dead. His family -- mother Mary, father Keith and three sisters -- flew to Germany, said their goodbyes and were at his side when he died after life support measures were removed.

Wallace, who attended Great Mills High School through his sophomore year before earning a GED in 2001, will be buried Wednesday at Arlington National Cemetery.

Thursday's two-hour funeral service in St. Mary's County brought moments of reflection, grief, hope and gratitude. Wallace's family, friends and teachers, though devastated by the loss, committed themselves to seeking solace in each other and in God, voicing the faith that they would see Matthew again.