‘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.
Nicole said Paul had a deep belly laugh and a smile stretching from ear to ear that was “the most warm and amazing thing.”
When he wasn’t fighting wars overseas, Nicole said, Paul was singing made-up songs to his children, dancing around the house and being the best friend he knew how to be. He lent people money, helped them with whatever they needed and picked them up in the middle of the night, Nicole said of Paul. He had a huge heart, she said.
“Paul made me the woman I am today,” she said. “I feel so lucky to have been with him for what seems like a lifetime, but also, not quite long enough.”
Paul was honored during the funeral with the Purple Heart, Bronze Star and his second Army Commendation Medal. In addition, Brig. Gen. Stephen Danner read a proclamation by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, honoring Paul for his sacrifice.
Danner said as a soldier, Paul always performed above expectations and put himself in harm’s way on more than one occasion to save others. He excelled both as a medic and an instructor.
Soldiers from as far away as North Carolina and Virginia came to honor Paul on Saturday, and nearly 100 Patriot Rider motorcyclists led the funeral procession to the Missouri Veterans Cemetery in Springfield, where Paul received full military honors.
“If the measure of a man is based on the loyalty of his friends, then Paul Brooks was a great man,” Danner said during the funeral. “He was an example to all soldiers and all Americans and will be forever remembered.”
“God bless you, Sgt. Brooks,” Danner said. “God bless his family. And God bless the United States.”
Career
Paul Brooks was an 11-year member of the Army National Guard, first in Arkansas, then Missouri, finally stationing with the 935th Aviation Support Battalion in Springfield. He was first in Iraq from September 2006 to November 2007. He then worked in Fort Leonard Wood with the Training Evaluation Battalion. He provided life-saving medical training to more than 1,500 other soldiers during that time. He was deployed on his second tour to Iraq on May 5, 2009, with the 1/252 Combined Arms Battalion of the 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team.
