Pallbearers escort the casket of Spc. Christopher Opat, 29, to the grave site at Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery Thursday, June 24, 2010, in Elma, Iowa. Opat died June 15 while serving on active duty with the U.S. Army in Baqubah, Iraq. (MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor)
Leslie Opat looks over the casket of his son Spc. Christopher Opat, 29, during the burial service at Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery Thursday, June 24, 2010, in Elma, Iowa. Opat died June 15 while serving on active duty with the U.S. Army in Baqubah, Iraq. (MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor)
Patriot Guard Riders lead the funeral procession for Spc. Christopher Opat past Featherlite Trailer employees on the way to the burial service at Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery Thursday, June 24, 2010, in Cresco, Iowa. Opat died June 15 while serving on active duty with the U.S. Army in Baqubah, Iraq. Leslie Opat, father of Christopher, works at Featherlite Trailers. (MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor)
Patriot Guard Riders stand guard during the burial service at Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery for Spc. Christopher Opat, 29, Thursday, June 24, 2010, in Elma, Iowa. Opat died June 15 while serving on active duty with the U.S. Army in Baqubah, Iraq. (MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor)
Mary Opat looks over the casket of her son Spc. Christopher Opat, 29, during the burial service at Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery Thursday, June 24, 2010, in Elma, Iowa. Opat died June 15 while serving on active duty with the U.S. Army in Baqubah, Iraq. (MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor)
Patriot Guard Riders stand guard outside Notre Dame Catholic Church before the funeral services for Spc. Christopher Opat, 29, Thursday, June 24, 2010, in Cresco, Iowa. Opat died June 15 while serving on active duty with the U.S. Army in Baqubah, Iraq. (MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor)
Honorary bearers escort the casket of Spc. Christopher Opat, 29, outside Notre Dame Catholic Church as Patriot Guard Riders stand guard Thursday, June 24, 2010, in Cresco, Iowa. Opat died June 15 while serving on active duty with the U.S. Army in Baqubah, Iraq. (MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor)
Deputy Commanding General, Brigadier General Michael Garrett, center, consoles Leslie Opat, left, mother of Spc. Christopher Opat, 29, at Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery Thursday, June 24, 2010, in Elma, Iowa. Christopher Opat died June 15 while serving on active duty with the U.S. Army in Baqubah, Iraq. (MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor)
Spc. Christopher Opat, 29, of Lime Springs, IA. (Courtesy photo)
Honorary bearers escort the casket of Spc. Christopher Opat, 29, outside Notre Dame Catholic Church as Patriot Guard Riders stand guard Thursday, June 24, 2010, in Cresco, Iowa. Opat died June 15 while serving on active duty with the U.S. Army in Baqubah, Iraq. (MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor)
A hearse transports Spc. Christopher Opat in the funeral procession past Featherlite Trailer employees on the way to the burial service at Our Lady of Lourdes Cemetery Thursday, June 24, 2010, in Cresco, Iowa. Opat died June 15 while serving on active duty with the U.S. Army in Baqubah, Iraq. Leslie Opat, father of Christopher, works at Featherlite Trailers. (MATTHEW PUTNEY / Courier Photo Editor)
By KAREN HEINSELMAN,
CRESCO - A Northeast Iowa family buried a son, a brother and an
uncle today.
More than 200 attended a funeral this morning for Spc.
Christopher Opat, 29, a Lime Springs native, at Notre Dame Catholic
Church in Cresco. Opat died of of non-combat-related injuries June
15 while on active duty with the U.S. Army in Baqubah, Iraq. It was
his third tour.
During the funeral, Rev. Richard Ament commended Opat for his
military service and said he will be missed.
"Every one of us is blessed by those in military service," Ament
said. These men and women, he added, "... Serve our nation and give
protection to the freedoms we now enjoy."
Friends, community members, even strangers turned out to pay
their respects at the church and subsequent service at Our Lady of
Lourdes Cemetery in rural Elma.
On the way to the burial site, the funeral procession passed a
line of 30 Featherlite Trailers employees holding pictures of
American flags along U.S. Highway 63. Employees said they wanted to
honor the late son of a fellow employee, a local boy and a member
of the U.S. military. Opat's father, Leslie, has put in almost two
decades with the company, said Rick Ruden of human resources.
The gathering is "to show respect for another American soldier,"
Ruden said.