Lawton Marine believed in mission

By Ron Jackson
The Oklahoman

LAWTON - “Sleep Well, America.”

Those loving words said a lot about U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Lamont Noel Wilson, who signed his letters from Iraq in this manner. Thursday, the scores of people who packed into Saint John’s Missionary Baptist Church in Lawton to attend his funeral said even more.

Simply put, the 20-year-old Wilson was loved and respected by many as a warrior who faithfully served his country and his God.

“That was his heart,” said Debra Jordan, a fellow church member who saw Wilson grow into manhood in recent years. “Sleep well, America. He believed in what he was doing, and he felt like he wanted to do what he could do so we could live in peace, comfort and happiness in the United States of America.”

Wilson, who joined the Marine Corps in June 2003, died Sept. 6 in combat in Fallujah, Iraq. He was buried at the Fort Sill National Cemetery in Elgin with full military honors.

Wilson is survived by his parents, Lanny and Florence Wilson of Lawton; sisters Tameka Taylor of Hampton, Va., and Tafina Wilson of Lawton; and brother Lanny Wilson Jr. of Vilseck, Germany.

“Lamont said he joined the Marines to make his dad proud,” Jordan said. “The other day, his mother said, ‘We are.’

“We all loved Lamont.”

Cries of “Hallelujah!” and sounds of weeping were heard in the church as Pastor Tyrone Turner Sr. delivered Wilson’s eulogy. He commended Wilson for his “noble sacrifice” and encouraged his family and friends to “accept what God ordains and what God allows.”

Wilson’s love of God is evident in the letters he wrote from Iraq.

In one letter penned to his mother in March, he wrote: “I made it over here. I can’t tell you much about the location, but I know that I’m always in God’s everlasting arms. Tell my church family I feel safe whenever I go out on a mission because I can feel their prayers. Keep praying for me and the troops. Gotta go, Mom. I have another mission.

“Love ya - Lamont.”