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By BETTY JESPERSEN
Staff Writer Friday, June 22, 2007

This will be the second military funeral to be held at the high school.

Marine Cpl. Bruce L. Howard of Strong was honored in 1983 after being killed in Beirut, Lebanon on Oct. 23 of that year. A plaque and photograph of Howard are in a display cabinet at the entrance to the school.

A wake will be held Monday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the school, with the memorial service at 2 p.m. Tuesday, according to Maine National Guard spokesman Capt. Shanon Cotta.

Parker, 26, whose family members live in Avon and Strong, will be buried in a family service at Mile Square Cemetery in Avon. Cotta said details of the service are still being worked out with the family.

A community reception following the burial will be held afterward at Phillips Middle School, said Quenten Clark, superintendent of School Administrative District 58. It is being arranged by family and community members and fellow soldiers in Parker's unit -- the Maine Army National Guard Battery A, 1st Battalion, 152nd Field Artillery Regiment out of Waterville.

"The school district is doing everything we can to make this easier on the family," Clark said. "The school is there to serve the community through thick and thin." He said the custodial staff at the school, many of them veterans, were cleaning the gym top to bottom on Thursday in preparation for the service and wake. "They have put up big flags, are getting the seating ready and today they are washing the walls. They are taking this very much to heart," Clark said Thursday.

He said the local logistics are being planned by SAD 58 maintenance director Daniel Worster and funeral director Scott Adams of Phillips in conjunction with the National Guard.

The Maine National Guard provides a casualty assistance officer who stays in daily contact with the family throughout the entire process, from the time they are notified of the death, through the funeral service, and beyond to provide whatever assistance is needed, according to Maj. Michael Backus, the community affairs director for the Maine Army National Guard at Camp Keyes.

"The officer is there, either in person or by phone contact every day, to make sure the family's wishes are being served. That is that officer's sole purpose," Backus said. "He walks through the whole process with them. It is our way to honor that soldier as well as we can."

Parker, who attended Mt. Abram and enlisted after high school, was on his second tour of duty in Iraq. According to Cotta, he died when the vehicle he was riding in was struck by an improvised explosive device during a routine security detail.

Parker's mother and stepfather, Dixie and Jerry Flagg, live in Avon. His father and stepmother, Scott and Flora Hood, live in Strong.

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