[Southsider2k12]

http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20.../14/news/n1.txt

LP soldier killed
Spc. Jason Beadles, 22, was an Army equipment operator in Iraq
By Amanda Haverstick and Laurie Wink The News-Dispatch

LaPORTE - Jason Beadles studied welding at the A.K. Smith Career Center in Michigan City when he was a student at LaPorte High School, and he also loved motorcycles. He had hoped to combine the two after his military career was over.

But that will never happen.

At 6:30 a.m. Thursday, his parents, Delona and Roger Beadles of LaPorte, were notified by phone that their 22-year old son had been killed in Iraq.

“I guess you'd say he was a patriot. He believed in the country and wanted to do his part,” said Ed Snow, a close friend of Roger and Delona speaking on behalf of the family. Jason was an Army equipment operator.

Later on Thursday, an Army corporal and first sergeant arrived at the family home at 2021 Monroe St. and told Roger Beadles, a driver for BOC Gases in LaPorte, that Spc. Jason Beadles had been electrocuted while serving in Iraq under circumstances that were being investigated. The two soldiers then went to Blue Chip Casino in Michigan City, where Delona works in human resources, to notify her in person.

The Army said an autopsy will be performed but details are not expected for several weeks. Jason was a heavy equipment operator in an engineering battalion stationed at Camp Liberty in Baghdad.

Jason's oldest brother, Josh, is currently stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Colo. An Army heavy artillery specialist, Josh returned from Iraq in October, just three days before Jason left. They never got to see each other. Josh is scheduled to return to Iraq in September, about a month before Jason was supposed to come home. Josh flew from Colorado to LaPorte yesterday to be with his family.

Snow served as a spokesman for the Beadles on Friday, fielding dozens of calls from friends, family and the news media. He said the family was doing “as well as could be expected.” The Beadles have another son, Jeremy, who is a union carpenter

Snow called the 6-foot 4-inch Jason “a big teddy bear.”

“He was like a big kid,” Snow said. “He had several nieces and nephews and it was nothing unusual to see him sitting in the sand box with them.”

Snow said Jason joined the Army after 9-11 because he thought it was his duty to serve. He was home on leave in February and told his parents he believed the military was making a difference in Iraq.

A cousin, Melanie Bowman, said her mother and Ed Snow were on a bowling team with Delona Beadles at City Lanes in Michigan City. Jason would be at the bowling alley with his mother whenever he was in town.

John Shei, associate principal of LaPorte High School, remembered Jason as “a very respectful, positive young man.”

“He was a nice, likable young man and it's a shame something like this had to happen,” Shei said.

Vocational counselor Susan Knop described Jason as very polite and “somebody a mother would be proud of.” Jason would often stop at her office to ask if he could take anything over to the A.K. Smith Career Center.

His passion for motorcycles led Jason to make plans to buy a motorcycle when he returned, and learn how to build and repair them, said a family friend.

LaPorte Mayor Leigh Morris said Friday of Beadles' death, “We are often insulated from war and, when something like this happens, it brings it very much home to us. You want to be able to do something, but there's very little we can do other than keeping the family very much in our prayers and hope that somehow we can find a solution to the problems in Iraq.”

Funeral arrangements are pending.

Correspondent Stan Maddux contributed to this article.

[Southsider2k12]

http://www.thenewsdispatch.com/articles/20.../22/news/n1.txt

LaPorte mourns its lost soldier

By Laurie Wink, The News-Dispatch

Roger Beadles comforts his wife, Delona, while the family looks on at Army Spc. Jason Beadles' funeral Saturday at the LaPorte High School Auditorium. Photo by Elizabeth Hogge/The News-Dispatch

LaPORTE - He's at rest now in his hometown, on a hillside beneath a stately pine tree in Patton Cemetery, a long way from embattled Baghdad, Iraq, where he lost his life Thursday, April 12.

U.S. Army Spc. Jason Beadles, 22, received a full military funeral beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday. Family members and friends, uniformed veterans and state and local politicians nearly filled the LaPorte High School Auditorium for the service, officiated by the Rev. Bill Fine.

While waiting for the family to arrive at the high school, people gathered in quiet groups, remembering the man named Jason Beadles who had touched their lives. Friend Kenneth Emmons grew up with Jason and was in the Boy Scouts with him.

“He was a real good friend, and I'm going to miss him,” Emmons said. “It was a big shock when I heard.”

Cousin Dave Dawson said he went camping with the Beadles family and remembered Jason as “a good kid.”

“He had no regrets,” Dawson said about his cousin's decision to join the Army. “He wanted to serve his country.”

Local veterans stood along both sides of the sidewalk at the building's entrance, standing at attention and holding flags both at the beginning and end of the service. The mourners followed the Beadles family into the auditorium, where they were greeted with the sound of soothing piano music. Jason's photo was projected on a large screen on a stage festooned with nine large floral arrangements.

The auditorium was completely quiet as his casket was carried in and placed at the front of the auditorium under a spotlight. Six uniformed members of Jason's' Army unit served as pall bearers, carrying his flag-draped casket into and out of the high school auditorium.

Later, at the burial site, they performed a solemn flag-folding ceremony, presenting the flag to parents Roger and Delona Beadles.

During the funeral, Rev. Fine commended the community for its support of the Beadles family, saying, “As you move through this day, I encourage you to remember Jason and all the opportunities you had with him.”

Chaplain James Rosselli of the State Defense Force offered a few words “from our side of the family.”

“I look out on a high school auditorium that's about full and that says something about the individual we have gathered here to

honor today,” Rosselli said. “Cpl. Beadles went forth and put himself in harm's way. We celebrate, and we mourn the passing of our brother.”

State Rep. Tom Dermody (D-LaPorte) said he spoke on behalf of Rep. Scott Pelath (D-Michigan City) and “the entire state of Indiana” in paying tribute to Beadles' sacrifice for his country.

“Jason Beadles left the warmth of his own home to enlist in the U.S. Army,” Dermody said. “He put himself in harm's way so others would not have to.”

State Sen. Jim Arnold (D-LaPorte) said that, as a veteran, he was “proud of the fact that Jason saw fit to answer the call.”

U.S. Congressman Joe Donnelly (D-Michigan City) called Beadles a “fierce warrior, loving son, a proud soldier and, more than any other word, a hero.”

Perhaps the most moving moment came when Jason's friend and fellow soldier, Spc. Keith Kenyon, went to the podium and addressed the audience, barely holding back his tears. All members of the military who were present passed before the casket and rendered honors. One at a time, they approached the casket, stood at attention and saluted it, Beadles' image before them.

Countless LaPorte residents lined the streets - standing at attention, saluting, holding flags and banners - as the funeral procession carrying their hometown hero wound its way from the high school to I Street, south on 18th Street, east to Kingsbury Avenue and north to Monroe Street, where the hearse was scheduled to pause at the Beadles' home, before arriving at the cemetery.

Prior to the service, more than 150 veterans had arrived on motorcycles from Indiana, Illinois and Michigan to pay tribute to Beadles, a dedicated soldier and motorcycle enthusiast. Holding flags and standing at attention, they formed a solid line along the front of the high school.

Many, as members of the Patriot Guard Riders, were there to provide a buffer between the grieving family and any hecklers who might decide to show up and stage a protest against the Iraqi War. They stood guard in the warm spring sunshine, waiting for the family members to arrive from Essling Funeral Home, where visitation was held.

Steve “Head Dog” Moore, spokesperson for Michigan City's Wall Gang and a PGR member, said Delona Beadles had called him to invite the Wall Gang, made up mostly of Vietnam War veterans, to participate in the ceremony.

“We've got to honor these men and women who sacrificed their lives for our country, “ Moore said. “Back in the day (of Vietnam), that didn't happen, and we can't let that happen again.”

Moore's sentiment was expressed in sayings printed on the leather jackets of fellow cyclists. One read, “The nation which forgets its defenders will itself be forgotten.” Another said, “All gave some. Some gave all.”

Cyclists led the procession from the high school to the cemetery, followed by a long string of cars that made its way along the route while LaPorte police and fire department personnel blocked off traffic. While mourners assembled at the grave site, the thundering sound of motorcycles driving away filled the air.

Contact Laurie Wink at lwink@thenewsdispatch.com.