Condolences to a fallen Patriot

[06pilot]

My prayers go out to he family from one soldier to another.




Fallen Marietta Soldier Remembered

Heather Thompson Reports
(200K)



Army Captain Hayes Clayton, Jr.




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Headlines from USATODAY.com

Pope pleads for peace in a time of conflicts


Reported By: Heather Thompson
Web Editor: Leigha Baugham
Last Modified: 12/30/2006 11:50:21 PM


The family of a Metro Atlanta soldier killed in Iraq on Christmas Day gathered Saturday in Union City to celebrate his life.

Army Captain Hayes Clayton, Jr. was killed in an explosion after being in the war torn country for just three months.

The 29-year-old grew up in Marietta and his spent every moment with his wife and infant son before he left for Iraq.

Saturday, Clayton’s Omega Psi Phi Fraternity brothers organized a gathering of friends and family to celebrate a man they said died doing what he was called to do.

Clayton had dreams of becoming a politician and believed it was his duty to serve his county, especially during a time of war.

“Before he was anything else, he was a man who loved God, loved his family and I never questioned his love for me,” said Clayton’s wife Monica.

The strength that Hayes received from his faith is a gift that he leaves behind to those that didn’t know him.

“No matter what happened, my brother knew Jesus and that’s what we want people to know,” said Clayton's brother Eric.

[PerroLoco]

FVSU to hold memorial service for slain soldierBy Natasha SmithTELEGRAPH STAFF WRITERFORT VALLEY - Hayes Clayton often assisted other cadets when he served in the Fort Valley State University ROTC program and showed other leadership skills, his former professor of military science, retired Lt. Col. Gregory Rooks, recalled Monday. Clayton, an Army captain, was killed in Iraq on Dec. 25 by an improvised explosive device. Clayton was assigned to the 842nd Military Training and Transition team, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan. Clayton was most likely displaying those leadership skills, Rooks said. "I'm sure he was leading from the front," Rooks said, adding that he was numb when he first heard the news Dec. 26 of his former student's death. Clayton, a 2002 Fort Valley State graduate, will be remembered Wednesday in a memorial service at 11 a.m. in the auditorium of the W.E.B. Blanchet Computer Technology and Mathematics Building. Rooks said the student from Marietta was popular on the college campus. Besides his ROTC membership, Clayton played on the football team and was a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. While he participated in other activities, Clayton's dedication to ROTC remained unwavering. During his junior year of college, Clayton quit the football team to fully commit himself to ROTC, Rooks said. He served on the Raider team as a cadet captain and as assistant operations officer. "Without a doubt, he was a first-class cadet," Rooks said.

[hazelle]

my deepest condolescences to his family...we have had our first local boy from my daughter's high school pass away about a month ago...really hit home especially to the kids in the school ...life is so fleeting and should be treated with more special care....

damn...it better be only four to six months more!! 3000 is too much...so was only one!! God bless to Clayton's family and his house

[06pilot]

Defianatly condolences. I just got back from a year tour in Iraq back in June and the MITT Teams are really to be respected. These guys trainthe Iraqi Army and have to live with them outside the wire. Its a tough job.

[Wolfman]

Originally Posted by 06pilot

Defianatly condolences. I just got back from a year tour in Iraq back in June and the MITT Teams are really to be respected. These guys trainthe Iraqi Army and have to live with them outside the wire. Its a tough job.

I pray for Bro. Clayton and his family!

Every day,two times a day, I pray for the brother I pledged back in '81. He's an LTC in Iraq training Iraqi Army. We trade E-mails and I try to call his wife from time see how she's doing.

[PerroLoco]

FORT VALLEY - "May the work I've done speak for me." "May the life I lived speak for me." The two lines of the hymn rang out through the auditorium of the W.W.E. Blanchet CTM Building on Fort Valley State University's campus as family and friends gathered to remember the life of Army Capt. Hayes Clayton, a 2002 graduate of the school. A procession of proclamations, eulogies and speeches spoke of a smart, dedicated soldier, student, father, husband and son. Clayton, 29, died on Christmas Day while on a tour of duty at Balad Air Base, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated. When he heard of the soldier's death, 2nd. Lt. Anthony Anderson, who was Clayton's fraternity brother in the Omega Psi Phi fraternity at FVSU, said he hopped into his car without shoes or socks and just drove around thinking of how his friend epitomized the cardinal principles of their organization. Clayton was a man of manhood, scholarship and perseverance, Anderson said. "He uplifted everyone around him as well as himself." Clayton was set to become a father for the first time in August. However, the soldier received his call for deployment in July with a possibility he might not get to see his son born. Monica Kyong Clayton said she and her husband prayed earnestly for him to be around for the baby's delivery. When it was time for the deployment, one of his fraternity brothers who is in the Army went in his place, she said. So on Aug. 14, he was able to hold Hayes Clayton III in his arms for the first time. Kyong Clayton said she is at peace now with her faith in God and with her son. In Korea, she met her "dream guy," she recalled, who was loving, caring, giving and courageous. With him, she said, she gave her life to Christ, which is what is getting her through her husband's death. "He's truly given me peace to where I have no worries," she said. Making peace with God was a message she conveyed to the young cadets who attended the memorial. "You will be going to war. Nine times out of 10 you will be deployed," she said. "Tomorrow is never promised."

[06pilot]

I am not an Omega, but I am an African American combat arms officer. There are not many of us in the Army, so when I meet one or hear of one it is special too me. Any soldiers death is tragic to me, but when its one of my own, its double