Hundreds turn out for funeral procession for fallen soldier w/ slide show

By Roger McKinney

rmckinney@joplinglobe.com

PARSONS, Kan. — One of the hundreds of people Monday afternoon lining Parsons’ Main Street in a drenching rain said his slight discomfort didn’t matter.

“It’s the least I could do for his family,” said Michael Moore, of Dennis, speaking of Cpl. Daniel Cox, whose funeral was conducted at Parsons Municipal Auditorium. Cox, 23, died Sept. 12 in Afghanistan.

Moore said he wanted to watch as the funeral procession passed the auditorium “to honor this young man and his family. It’s quite a sacrifice.”

The funeral came a day after the 203rd Engineer Battalion of the Missouri National Guard, with units from Joplin, Neosho and Kansas City, left for training in Wisconsin before returning to Afghanistan in October.

Dangerous profession

Cox was a 2005 graduate of Parsons High School. He had been in the Army since shortly after his graduation, based with the 10th Mountain Division in Fort Drum, N.Y. He was in his second deployment to Afghanistan. The Fort Drum public affairs office said Cox and Staff Sgt. Nekl B. Allen, 29, of Rochester, N.Y., were killed in Wardak province when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb and small-arms fire.

“He volunteered for the infantry, the toughest, most dangerous profession,” said Brig. Gen. Edward Cardon, from Fort Leavenworth, during the service. “He volunteered knowing full well the risk.”

Cardon said his fellow soldiers knew Cox as a quiet professional.

“He was a good man,” Cardon said. “A great soldier. One who could be counted on. One who made a difference.”