Slain Enid Soldier Remembered As A Hero

ENID, Okla. (AP) -- An Oklahoma soldier who died in Iraq was remembered as a hero Wednesday during funeral services in his hometown.<br/><br/>Staff Sgt. Clint Storey, 30, died Aug. 4 after a roadside bomb

Wednesday, August 16th 2006, 11:45 am

By: News On 6

ENID, Okla. (AP) -- An Oklahoma soldier who died in Iraq was remembered as a hero Wednesday during funeral services in his hometown.

Staff Sgt. Clint Storey, 30, died Aug. 4 after a roadside bomb blast in Ramadi.

The funeral was held inside the darkened sanctuary of Central Christian Church, which lost power shortly before the service began. The sound of jets from nearby Vance Air Force Base could be heard flying overhead during the service.

Army Chaplain Maj. Martha A. Carson praised Storey and other soldiers in Iraq for their bravery.

A letter from Storey's mother, Carol Inherst, was read during the service. In it, she told her son that he was her hero even before he joined the military.

The letter also noted Enid's support for Storey's family since his death.

"You are an American hero and an Oklahoman, and I wish you could see your hometown of Enid," Inherst wrote in the letter.

Storey's wife, Melissa Storey, lives in Palmer, Mass., with the couple's 4-year-old daughter and is expecting the couple's second child in February.

A memorial service for Storey will be held in Massachusetts on Aug. 26 in Palmer.

Dozens of people holding flags stood outside the church, at a main intersection near the church building, and at the entrance to Enid's cemetery, where a plot was donated and burial fees were waived.

Five members of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., protested about 500 feet from the church, but disbanded shortly before the services began. About two dozen counter-protesters, mostly high school students and recent graduates, set up near the Kansas group, but both camps were peaceful.

Clint Storey is thought to be the 43rd Oklahoman to die during fighting in Iraq. He joined the military in 1997 and was an Army recruiter for three years in Los Angeles before being stationed in Germany and, eventually, Iraq.