Cox memorial dedicated in Carmichaels
CARMICHAELS – After days of cold, rainy, windy weather, more than a few people among several dozen who turned out for the dedication of a memorial for a Greene County soldier killed in Iraq wondered aloud if they had a little help from above on mild-weathered Saturday afternoon. But it wasn’t the warmer weather that brought such a large crowd to the dedication of a memorial to Spc. Gregory A. Cox, the first Greene County soldier killed in Iraq, and to all U.S. veterans at Laurel Point Cemetery in Carmichaels yesterday.
The crowd was there to remember and honor Cox, who grew up in Carmichaels, attended church in Masontown and graduated from Geibel Catholic High School. He was immortalized in the over 6-foot-tall memorial that now stands at the entrance to the cemetery.
More than the monument that bears his image, Gregory will live on in those lives he touched, his father, John Cox of Carmichaels, said.
“We will always know what a joy it was to know him. To witness the things he said, the smiles he shared, the kindnesses he did and how he laughed,” he said, pausing at times to compose himself. “That’s how we all should remember him and carry him in our hearts. We love and miss you, Greg.”
Cox, a Humvee gunner for the Army, died at age 21 on Sept. 27, 2004, when the armored vehicle rolled over after a civilian automobile ran the Humvee off the road in Balad, Iraq. His three-year enlistment was up in August 2004 but his stay was extended in Iraq. His last visit home had been on leave from July 27 until Aug. 12.
“We have learned many things in the two years since Greg’s passing and I like to think of these as lessons he continues to teach us,” John Cox said from a podium near the monument, as his wife, Mary Anne, looked on from under a bright blue tent set up for the event. “Life is rarely understandable and often unfair. We are all living with borrowed time. Our loved one surely knew that time was precious and he did not waste a minute of it. He lived a life that may have been outwardly simple but was inwardly rich.”
Several times during his brief speech, John Cox paused to compose himself, telling the crowd that making it through the remarks he had planned on several pieces of lined yellow paper was “tough.” Mary Anne Cox, who did not speak publicly, quietly dabbed away tears as her husband spoke of first hearing the news of Greg’s death.
“Those memories are with our family forever,” John Cox said. “We must remember that every veteran has already risen far above the rest of our society in character, courage, honor and ability. Not one ounce of that achievement can be lost or taken back. Our loved one is immortal. He will live forever in our memories and hopefully in the deeds of every life he touched.”
The Cox family, with the help of donations, paid for the memorial.
“It was something that we had to do,” John Cox said.
Members of Company C, the Army National Guard unit based in Waynesburg, stood at parade rest throughout the service, as well as local members from the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Order of the Purple Heart. The Albert Gallatin High School Junior ROTC served as honor guard for the event.
Jonathan Lippet, Greg’s cousin, read from remarks written for Greg’s funeral Mass two years ago.
He described his cousin as a “kind and gentle” person who could be best described as the “strong, silent type.”
“He was slow to anger and quick to serve, and strong in his faith to God,” Lippett said. “He bravely and without reservation chose to serve his country and God.”
State Rep. H. William DeWeese called Greg Cox “a very special young man” and said there “is and has been and always will be a calling” for people to don the uniform and serve like the fallen soldier did.
“Our community is infinitely proud of this young gunner. A gunner who went into harm’s way and he saw the perilous fight,” DeWeese said, quoting the words from the “Star Spangled Banner.”
“This young son of Greene County who, from my very limited knowledge, was blessed with a very serious, yet happy heart and a religious foundation so many of us could only wish for.”
DeWeese added, “Greg was a physical manifestation of our democracy in faraway Mesopotamia.”
As part of the dedication service, George Parish of Masontown performed a song titled “Story of a Soldier,” with the chorus that included the words, “Heaven has a new soldier tonight.”
Parish, who met Greg in kindergarten and grew up with him, had written the song after Greg’s death. “It seems like just yesterday we were down the road in the yard just playing and just having a good time,” Parish said. “Greg was just a model person. I hope my kid is like him some day.”