Funeral held for battle of Mogadishu pilot
 |
Aaron Weaver
Story Tools
|
INVERNESS, Florida (AP) -- Chief Warrant Officer Aaron Weaver survived cancer and the 1993 battle of Mogadishu, recounted in the movie "Black Hawk Down," and still he wanted to serve in Iraq. On Saturday, family and friends remembered the bravery of the 32-year-old Army pilot who never made it home.
Hundreds of mourners, including members of Weaver's 82nd Airborne Division, held flags during the funeral procession through the streets of his hometown to his high school. With more than 1,500 mourners expected, the public memorial service was being held in the school's football stadium.
Weaver had been headed to a medical checkup in Baghdad when his medevac helicopter was shot down near Fallujah on January 8. Weaver, a passenger, was among nine soldiers killed.
"It brings me great joy knowing Aaron fulfilled every dream in his life before he left us, and that he would go to war again if it meant my children and your children would not have to face the fear and sadness we have seen the past few years," Weaver's widow, Nancy, said at a private viewing before the funeral.
As an Army Ranger, Weaver had survived the October 1993 street battle in Mogadishu, Somalia, that was the basis of the book and movie "Black Hawk Down." He helped save a buddy's life and was featured in a documentary on the battle.
After cancer surgery in 2002, Weaver requested a special medical clearance so he could fly his OH-58 Kiowa observer helicopter in Iraq, his family said.
Gov. Jeb Bush attended the private viewing before Weaver's funeral Saturday afternoon. A public memorial also was held at Citrus High School, from which Weaver graduated.
Florence Honea, a friend of the Weaver family, said she attended the memorial because "we need to be here for our troops."
"I feel for anybody who has gone through this," said Honea, whose son, Sgt. Jeffery Honea, is a helicopter technician with the 101st Airborne Division in Mosul.
Weaver belonged to the 82nd Airborne Division based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he lived with his wife, 1-year-old daughter and 10-year-old stepson.
Copyright 2004 The
Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
