WICU12

Hundreds of people today said their final goodbyes to a Mercer County soldier killed  in Iraq. Staff Sgt. David Veverka, 25, died in a roadside bombing. He grew up in the small Mercer County community of Jamestown. And today many people in Jamestown and the entire area came to the funeral home for the viewing to pay their final respects to the soldier's family. A close friend, Sgt. Dale Hatch said he was impressed with toge huge turnout in the small town. Hatch said, "To have this kind of support, this many people show up speaks a lot to who he was. What he stood for and how he touched people." And the volunteer members of the Patriot Guard Riders also showed up to hold American flags in a patriotic vigil outside the funeral home. They came from as far away as Erie, Ohio, and Niagara Falls, many of them riding motorcycles in a steady rain. Rob Heming of the Patriot guard said, "A lot of the members of the Patriot Guard are veterans and this is very important to them and all of us. That we offer our respects to the family and the fallen soldier." Sgt. David Veverka will be buried Wednesday at Arlington National Cemetery.

Paul Wagner