Cpl. Bradley Arms, U.S.M.C. (KIA)

Hundreds attend Marine's memorial

From the back of the quiet sanctuary came a muted call, alerting the flag carriers to march forward.

The American and U.S. Marine Corps flags glided to the front of the church, visible above the heads of the standing congregation, and were set in their holders.

Saturday afternoon at Trinity Presbyterian Church was a time of patriotism and remembrance, a time for saying goodbye to Cpl. Bradley Thomas Arms, who died Nov. 19 in Fallujah, Iraq. The Covenant School graduate was 20.

Hundreds of people - friends from church and school, retired Marine officers in bright red suit jackets, family members and Arms’ fraternity brothers from the University of Georgia - attended the memorial.

In an e-mail sent to family members Oct. 31, Arms wrote about why he was fighting the war.

Iraqi children often ran to greet him and other soldiers, while they received “cold stares” from men older than 20, the corporal wrote. Hope for the country lay with the children, as long as they remained optimistic.

He ended the note with: “Please keep me in your prayers as this is still a dangerous place.”

He and another soldier, Lance Cpl. Demarkus D. Brown of Martinsville, died as the result of enemy action in Al Anbar Province.

Sgt. Brad Harris was one of Arms’ commanders in the 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, 4th Marine Division. He was flying back to the United States after receiving a shrapnel injury when he heard the news of Arms’ death. “I said, ‘It can’t be true.’”

Addressing Arms’ parents, Harris said: “Everybody there is doing great and doing great things. I was proud to serve with your son.”

Eddie Ferris of Palmyra, whose son Nathan served with Arms, spoke of the young men’s friendship and their devotion to God.

Right before shipping out of California, Arms asked Lance Cpl. Nathan Ferris to pray with him.

“No matter what happens on this mission, always remember Romans 8:28,” Arms told Ferris.

The passage reads: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

Arms’ purpose was to fight for democracy and freedom, and to live according to God’s will, friends and family said.

But he also had a sense of humor and boldness that shined through. John Dalton, his best friend since seventh grade, recalled a time during their junior year in high school when he dared Arms to sit between two strangers at a movie.

He did it, remaining in the seat for a full 10 minutes, Dalton said as mourners shook their heads with laughter.

E.N. Garnett, Arms’ cousin and a Vietnam veteran, said he could see a new maturity in the young man at a family reunion last summer, just before Arms left for Camp Pendleton in California.

“I’m proud of Brad not only as a Marine,” Garnett said, “but as a young boy who grew into a man.”

Arms’ private burial will take place in Albemarle County this week. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made to the Brad Arms Scholarship Fund at Covenant School.