Remembering 6 Who Served

Navy SEAL and 5 Soldiers Are Buried at Arlington National Cemetery

Hundreds of mourners gathered at Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery yesterday, some coming to honor five soldiers killed in a helicopter crash last year and others to pay tribute to a Navy SEAL killed in combat last month.

Although the gray skies threatened rain, the weather held for the services.

For the first funeral, more than 300 people crossed York Drive, which lines the north side of Section 60, for the burial of Petty Officer 1st Class Joshua Thomas Harris.

Harris, 36, of Lexington, N.C., died Aug. 30 during combat while trying to cross a turbulent river in Afghanistan. The Navy SEAL was temporarily deployed from his assignment at the Naval Special Warfare Development Group based at Dam Neck, Va.

"He was a true Renaissance man," his mother, Evelyn Harris, told The Washington Post last week. "Josh always wanted to be the best and the brightest, especially in things that helped people. He believed he was fighting for our freedom and fighting terrorism with all his heart."

During the service, flags were presented to his mother and father, Sam Harris; his twin sister, Mary-Maria Kirstin Harris, known as Kiki; and his older brother, S. Ranchor Harris III.

Harris was a man of diverse tastes and talents, an all-county and all-conference football player at Lexington Senior High School who majored in studio art at Davidson College, family members said. He loved to paint, and the walls of his family's home are covered with his work.

Later in the morning, dozens of mourners came from Bradley Drive, on Section 60's south side, for a group burial honoring five soldiers killed in a helicopter crash May 30, 2007.

Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Christopher M. Allgaier, Staff Sgt. Charlie L. Bagwell, Sgt. Jesse A. Blamires, Sgt. Brandon E. Hadaway and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Joshua R. Rodgers were killed when their CH-47D Chinook helicopter crashed near Afghanistan's Helmand province. A Canadian and a Briton were also killed in the crash. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

A horse-drawn caisson followed a military band down Bradley Drive. The caisson carried a flag-draped silver coffin bearing the remains of the five soldiers. Mourners stood as four Black Hawk helicopters flew overhead to start the service.

American flags were presented to Rodgers's wife and parents, Blamires's wife and father, and Allgaier's wife. A child sat on Jennifer Allgaier's lap, clutching the flag that was presented, and Allgaier held the child and the flag close to her.

All of the soldiers were paratroopers with the 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 82nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, based at Fort Bragg, N.C. Each had been awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, among other honors, and had at least one previous deployment in Iraq or Afghanistan.