Families, friends mourn soldiers

The soldiers were remembered as self-sacrificing heroes.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- Two Ohio soldiers who died in Iraq were remembered by family, friends and the military at their funerals Saturday. Another had his funeral the day before.
At the service in Cleveland for Pfc. Samuel Bowen, a soldier rescued by Bowen during a rocket attack was among those who eulogized him. Bowen was serving with Hamilton, Ohio's 216th Engineer Battalion when he was killed last week. He leaves behind his wife, three children and two stepchildren.
Bowen was killed when a rocket-propelled grenade exploded near his vehicle. The 38-year-old restaurant cook known to friends as "Smokey" was credited with pulling a wounded fellow soldier from the line of fire in June, even as he also was wounded.
"Without regard for himself, without regard for what injuries he had, Sam grabbed me and pulled me to safety," said Spc. Ronald Eaton, an Ohio National Guardsman from Lakewood. Eaton said both he and Bowen were hit by shrapnel during the June attack. But shortly after Eaton was wheeled out of surgery in Iraq, a battalion commander handed him a cell phone. It was Bowen on the other end, asking how he was doing.
Second funeral
A military burial with full honors also occurred in Canal Fulton, about 50 miles south of Cleveland, for Sgt. Michael Christopher Barkey, 22, who died when his vehicle flipped over. He was a member of the National Guard's 1484th Transportation Company based in Akron.
Many wore bright colors at the request of Barkey's mother, Julie, but others were dressed in uniforms from all branches of the military along with some Boy Scouts in uniform.
A hearse carried the flag-draped coffin of Barkey to the Sts. Philip and James Catholic Church cemetery for burial. Hundreds of people stood along the streets to show their respect Saturday morning after a Mass held in the Northwest High School gymnasium, Barkey's alma mater.
After the Mass, Barkey's parents, Hal and Julie Barkey, were presented with a Bronze Star and an Ohio Distinguished Service Medal.
Col. Deborah Ashenhurst, commander of the Ohio National Guard 73rd Troop Command, said Barkey "had a patriotic calling" and a set of core values for his parents, friends, church, community and fellow soldiers.
Barkey's mother urged the gathering not to lose hope. She said if people want to remember her son, they should "do the right thing and stand up for the little guy."
In Cleveland
On Friday, hundreds of friends and relatives of Army Spc. Joseph M. Garmback Jr. attended a funeral Mass at St. Ignatius of Antioch Church in Cleveland. Some strangers even stopped to salute Garmback's flag-draped coffin as it was carried from the church.
The Rev. James R. McGonegal said, "Joey loved being a soldier. He was so self-sacrificing."
Garmback, 24, of Cleveland, was one of five soldiers killed July 8 when the Iraqi National Guard headquarters was attacked in Baghdad.
He was buried Friday at West Park Cemetery. His parents, Joseph Sr. and Marlyon, were given the American flag covering their son's coffin. Joseph Sr. held a white rose and Marlyon a white handkerchief as they silently watched Joseph Jr.'s coffin be lowered into the ground.
Relatives said Garmback joined the Army because he wanted to follow in the footsteps of his paratrooper father, who served from 1968 to 1971. His parents, originally from Cleveland, now live in Brook Park.
Garmback was a member of the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division, based in Schweinfurt, Germany. The division is known as the Big Red One, having been founded in 1917 during World War I.