An Army soldier killed in Iraq and his grief-stricken mother, who died a week later, were buried alongside one another, hailed as "both heroes in their own right, and casualties of war."
"We're here today to pay our respects and to honor the passing of two great American heroes," Chaplain Major Thomas McFarland said. "One brave soldier, the other a faithful, caring mother."
Army Specialist Robert Unruh, a combat engineer with the 44th Engineer Battalion, had been stationed in Iraq less than a month when he was shot as his unit came under small arms fire in Al Anbar Province.
Karen Unruh-Wahrer, 45, a respiratory therapist in Tucson, collapsed at her home last Saturday, hours after viewing her son's body, and died later that night.
An honor guard presented Unruh's sister, Amie, with a folded US flag and the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Good Conduct Medal awarded posthumously to her brother. A 21-gun salute followed.
McFarland said Unruh, the fourth generation of his family to serve in the military, did so "faithfully and he served well. He was a good soldier."
His mother, the chaplain added, provided "the unconditional love of a mother to support her child at a time like that, knowing that he was willingly stepping into harm's way. Duty called; she was there."
A friend of Unruh-Wahrer said earlier in the week that she had been unable to quit crying after her son's death.
Among those who attended the service was Gary ``Rex'' Finley, who said he had been a member of the same unit while serving in Korea.
Military deaths are always difficult, Finley said, and Unruh's mother ``died of a broken heart.''
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