Saying Goodbye

CAMDEN, Ark.-At 10:27 a.m. Saturday, a mile-long funeral procession inched away from Hesley Box Sr.'s home in Chidester, Ark.

There were more people in the funeral procession than lived in the small hamlet of a town, with a population of 335. There would be more than double that at the procession's destination: The Fairview High School Gymnasium in Camden, Ark.

Leading the way in a black hearse along the 16-mile trek was the Box's 24-year-old son, who was killed May 6 when a car bomb exploded at his guard post in Baghdad, Iraq.

It would be noted at his funeral that Staff Sgt. Hesley Box Jr. of Nashville, Ark., died saving other soldiers' lives.

"I spoke directly with his brigade commander and he told me that if Sergeant Box hadn't taken the action that he took at that checkpoint, other soldiers would have died," said Maj. Gen. Don Morrow of the U.S. Army at Box's 11 a.m. funeral inside the gymnasium. "I say to the family: He did not die in vain. This Memorial Day (May 30) will be special, for we will be thinking about Staff Sgt. Box Jr. and the sacrifice he made for his country."

Morrow then presented Box's widow, Alexia, with the Bronze Star, posthumously awarded to Box for his ultimate sacrifice on May 6 in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

He also presented her Box's Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman's Badge and the Arkansas Distinguished Service Medal awarded by Gov. Mike Huckabee.

"All of us know that freedom is not free," Morrow said. "It's the most expensive thing we can possess, and this family today understands that completely."

Staff Sgt. Box is survived by his wife, Alexia De-Yaun Johnson Box; and two children, 5-year-old son T'Darion and 20-month-old son Zakheus, all of Nashville; father and mother Hesley and Barbie Box of Chidester; mother- and father-in-laws Loretta and Marvis Johnson, of Hope, Ark.; and brother, Tarcus Box, who was deployed to Iraq but returned home to attend his brother's funeral; three sisters-in-law, Sherry Marshall, Pamela Turner and Shalunda Johnson; one brother-in-law, Demarcus Johnson, all of Nashville; and a host of aunts, uncles, cousins and friends.

Box is the second Arkansas National Guard soldier from the Texarkana area killed in Iraq in as many weeks. Capt. Arthur "Bo" Felder of Lewisville, Ark., killed on April 24 in Iraq. He and Box were members of the same National Guard Brigade, the Texarkana-based 39th Infantry.

Box graduated from Camden Fairview High School in 1998. He joined the U.S. Army National Guard in 1997 and served seven years. He was a member of the Roadside Church of God in Christ of Ozan, Ark, whose choir sang at the funeral, and the New Sanctuary Christian Center of Chidester.

Classmates, family members and friends made brief comments during the funeral, and the eulogy was brought by The Rev. Theodore Marks of the Roadside Church of Christ. Also speaking were Minister Keith Marks, The Rev. Bobby Box Sr., Pastor Herbert Fort, Alsonya Turney and Darrell Marks.

On the way to Chidester for internment in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery, hundreds of Camden and area residents flanked Loop 278 and Highway 24 all the way back to Chidester, every one waving American flags of all sizes.

This was apparently not an organized effort on the part of residents, but a grass roots, unofficial "honor guard" in recognition of Box.

"I think the (Camden) Chamber of Commerce provided some flags to anyone who wanted them," said one Camden resident. "But as far as I know this is just a grass roots thing. I heard on the news about what time they (the funeral procession) would be passing by and brought my children out."

Published: May 11, 2004

Local News: Rockford
Cousin of ex-mayor killed in Baghdad
Staff Sgt. Hesley Box Jr., 24, was the victim of a car bomb last week.

By CHRIS GREEN, Rockford Register Star
>> Click here for more about Chris

A Rockford native and distant cousin of former Rockford Mayor Charles Box was killed last week in Baghdad when a car bomb detonated near his guide post.

Staff Sgt. Hesley Box Jr. was born Jan. 29, 1980, in Rockford. He and his parents, Barbara and Hesley Box Sr., lived in the 400 block of Horace Avenue in Rockford until Hesley Jr. was 6. The 24-year-old hailed from Nashville, Ark.

Box's death on May 6 is listed on a Department of Defense Web site, www.defenselink. mil/releases/2004/nr20040507-0746.html.

He joined the National Guard as a junior in Camden Fairview High School. He joined the Army after graduating from high school in 1998. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 153rd Infantry, 39th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Arkansas National Guard, Texarkana, Ark.

Hesley Box Sr., contacted Monday in his Chidester, Ark., home, said his son liked the military.

"He just wanted to be a soldier. We never tried to persuade him not to join."

Box Sr. said the last time he spoke to his son was May 3.

"He was in very good spirits," he said. "He asked me when was the last time I went fishing."

Box Sr. described his son as an avid fisherman and a "dedicated family man who loved the Lord."

Box Jr. and his wife of three years, Alexia, have a 21-month-old son. Box's older brother, Tarcus K. Box, 30, spent a year of duty in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom before being reassigned.

According to the May 7 edition of the Camden News newspaper in Arkansas, one other U.S. soldier was seriously injured in the bombing. He suffered burns to his face and hands, and shrapnel wounds to his leg before being flown to Germany for treatment.

The bombing remains under investigation.

Box Sr. said, "We hope this thing will be resolved soon. We don't want anybody else to go through what we are going through at this time."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact: cgreen@registerstartower.com; 815-987-1241

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