‘No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily.”

— John 10:18, referenced by Chaplain Col. Gary Gilmore at the funeral of Sgt. Paul F. Brooks.

By Melissa Dunson

aostmeyer@joplinglobe.com

Sgt. Paul F. Brooks chose sacrifice before he set foot in Iraq.

“We sacrifice our lives when we put on this uniform, when we raised our hands and made an oath before God Almighty,” Chaplain Col. Gary Gilmore said at Paul’s funeral Saturday in Springfield. “We have already made that choice. The reality is just that the rest of our story is still being written.”

For Paul’s family and friends, that story changed May 21, when a bomb exploded near his unit on patrol near Baghdad.

Life must now go on without the 34-year-old father, husband and Army medic formerly of Carl Junction.

“The cost of freedom is very personal and very painful today,” Gilmore said.

David Brooks said he will remember his older brother Paul as “P.F.,” the one who toughened him up as a child through wrestling matches, but was fiercely loyal.

“He was always available when I needed him most,” David said of Paul during the funeral. “Our lives will never be the same without the creativity and charisma that he brought. He is my personal hero.”

Paul’s wife, Nicole, offered an inside look at the man so many at the funeral simply knew as a soldier. To Nicole, Paul was friendly, talented and a little bit of an egomaniac. He fell for her immediately and wouldn’t stop calling. They dated for two weeks before he asked for a serious commitment from her.

Paul was deeply devoted to his children, Nicole said. A video montage during the funeral featured mostly photographs of Paul snuggled up with his four youngest children: Logan, 7; Aiden, 6; Samara, 4; and Denver, 2. Captured forever in film are the memories of tickles, naps and cupcakes with their father. In one photo, Samara stood with her father, wearing his Army fatigue hat.

It’s Paul that Nicole said she sees when she looks at their children. Logan has his personality. Aiden has his taste in music, “daddy’s little rocker,” Nicole said. Samara wears her heart on her sleeve like Paul, and Denver has his father’s stubbornness and resiliency.