Posted on 08/28/2005 10:15:27 AM PDT by DuckFan4ever
Jeffrey Lucas, killed June 28 in Afghanistan, grew up near Corbett with his heart set on a military profession
GRESHAM -- It was obvious from an early age.
A report Jeffrey Lucas wrote in the fourth grade detailed his dream of becoming a Navy SEAL, describing the elite team as "the best." He honed his extraordinary accuracy by shooting squirrels and picking off mice. The walls in his room always had space for military recruitment posters. And when "Top Gun" came out, he dragged his friend to the movie theater.
"He was made to be a Navy SEAL," that longtime friend, pastor Ben Bryson, said Saturday.
Jeffrey Alan Lucas, 33, died with 15 other soldiers and sailors June 28 when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his Special Operations helicopter in Afghanistan. He leaves behind his wife, Rhonda, and their 4-year-old son, Seth, who live in Virginia Beach, Va.
Saturday's memorial at East Hill Foursquare Church in Gresham was the first Oregon gathering since his death two months ago. A memorial service was held last month in Virginia for Lucas and the others. Lucas will be buried Oct. 21 in Arlington National Cemetery, said Pat Lucas, his mother.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski told the crowd of more than 300 mourners that he wished he had known the "genuine American hero" he described as tenacious, courageous and intelligent.
"Petty Officer Jeffrey A. Lucas had the heart," Kulongoski said. "He wouldn't back down. He wouldn't give up."
Many speakers said they admired Lucas' commitment to his country.
"Jeff knew the profession was dangerous, but he understood that, and he did it anyway," his uncle, Larry Traxler, said. "Jeff was in Afghanistan for his love of freedom."
Three video tributes, with footage from the Corbett Fourth of July parade, Afghanistan and the July 8 memorial in Virginia, left many in the audience grasping for tissues to wipe away tears.
In the lobby afterward, they pored over photographs of the brown-haired Lucas as a young boy, on the varsity football team and as a rugged Navy SEAL.
Jamie Lucas said he took his older brother's death "very, very hard."
"There's times when I'm doing something in the yard, and I'll remember something Jeff did," said Jamie Lucas, fighting back tears. "It's probably what it'll be like in the next few months and years, but you just got to go on."
Lucas grew up a country boy at heart on his family's farm near Corbett, next door to his grandparents. He graduated in 1989 from Corbett High School, where he was a star in football, basketball, baseball, and track and field. He was an all-state tailback in football and joined the military after his senior year.
His mother said Saturday she finds peace knowing her son died doing what he loved.
"We can all be very proud of him," Pat Lucas said. "He did what he was chosen to do, what he wanted to do, and he did it well. Lots of us live until we die and just go through the motions, but he really lived."
Yuxing Zheng: 503-221-8199; yuxingzheng@news.oregonian.com
RIP Petty Officer Lucas. Your family is proud of you and America is proud of you.
I met several parents who lost their son's in Iraq during yesterday's rally in Crawford.
They were extremely gracious when I thanked them and especially their son for what they did. I will forever be grateful.
Thank you, Petty Officer Lucas, Navy SEAL. R.I.P.
Interesting that this respectful tribute was done by a reporter who, judging by the name, likely is an Chinese immigrant. Often it takes having seen what the lack of freedom is like firsthand to be able to appreciate it in a way Cindy Sheehan and her cronies appear incapable of.
Thank you Petty Officer Jeffrey A. Lucas . We all have to die.
And they're not all storybook endings. But he lived his dream and that means a lot. Prayers for his family and friends.
Fyi..
God bless you Jeffrey Lucas and the other men that died that day trying to save the own. It is truely a hero that sacrifices his life try to save his fellow man. In that vein of thought all our fighting men and women should be considered heros. On a daily basis the put their life on the line for all of us. That is a debt that I don't think can ever be repaid. But I am so glad that we have a country that people are willing to make that kind of commitment.
Serving in the military in peace time only gives me an minute amount of knowledge on what it is like to face that dangers of actual combat. I can only imagine that rigors and horrors that these men have faced. I have the utmost repsect for all our soldiers and pray that we can bring all of them home when this job is done.
"We can all be very proud of him," Pat Lucas said. "He did what he was chosen to do, what he wanted to do, and he did it well. Lots of us live until we die and just go through the motions, but he really lived."
My humble gratitude to Petty Officer Lucas.May he rest in God's arms.
God bless Petty Officer Jeffrey Lucas because he really lived. RIP.
May he rest in peace.
"Love one another as I have loved you. There is no greater love than a man laying down his life for his friends."
- John 15:12-13
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling, which thinks that nothing is worth war, is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. —John Stuart Mill (1868)
Oregon Ping
Petty Officer Jeffrey A. Lucas is a true hero!
Rest In Peace brave Navy SEAL!
Prayers for his family!
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