The family of a slain Army Ranger from Philomath, Oregon are planning a public memorial service for him this weekend. A suicide bomber killed Philomath, Oregon High School graduate Pfc. Cody James Patterson in a battle on Oct. 6.
Cody was one of four killed at the beginning of the shutdown. His death received some national news coverage because of the effect the shutdown had on delaying death benefit funds due his family.
His memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 20 at Oregon State University’s LaSells Stewart Center at 875 S.W. 26th Ave. in Corvallis.
Patterson won the Mr. PHS pageant in 2007, the year he graduated high school. His senior year he was also captain of the school’s football team.
Patterson enlisted after graduatuation. At the time of his death, he was serving his second tour of duty in Afghanistan with the 3rd Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment.
The Westboro Baptist Church says it will bring its antigay message to the scheduled service for Cody Patterson in Corvallis Sunday.
Friends and supporters of the Patterson family plan a quiet counterprotest and urge friends to ignore members of the Kansas-based religious group. "This is peaceful reinforcement," the Facebook page for the counterprotest says.
As of 4 pm Saturday, nearly 1,000 people have signed up to attend the counter protest and another 500 have indicated maybe. In my case, my "yes, I'm going" includes seven or eight other people, family and friends who will also be attending but have not logged onto facebook to show they are attending so these numbers could be very low compared to the actual crowd.
Our own Horace Boothroyd III will be videoing the silent event. Look for his diary on the event later on Sunday or early Monday. If he's able to livestream, he will try to do so.
Can you help out? Wise Ferret? Blue Jessamine? anyone else close enough to come, bring a flag and help to shield Cody's family from the hateful signs and rhetoric?
Joseph Hedberg, event facilitator, wrote on Facebook:
Alright everyone, gather around, take a knee, and listen up. First of all I want to thank each and everyone of you for joining this cause, I appreciate your enthusiasm for it and to support the family of the fallen soldier.
Second, I will be in the front of the ticket office of Reser Stadium at noon but probably 11:45. You can meet up with me and the others there. I will be wearing blue jeans, a black coat, and a Miami Dolphins ball cap. I'll be holding an American flag too. WBBC is going to be there at 1:15, I'm going to gather intel with a few connections I've made over the years to see if we can block these people sooner.
Third, these people are jerks and with that they're lawyers and have powerful lawyers. DO NOT, I saw again DO NOT, let their hateful words, signs, or manner provoke you. They tend to have their own children at these protests, DON'T EVEN REPLY to them. This is a peaceful demonstration and if they're the ones shouting and making a scene let them get escorted away. Don't stoop to their level hurling the hate back. I've lived in this community for seven years, this is my second home, and I will not accept their hate and intolerance here, and you shouldn't either.
Lastly, for now, if you have an American flag please bring it. I want to raise the flags to block their hateful signs from the families sight. If you don't have an American flag don't stress, hopefully some people have multiple, I have 3, so ill lend two out. If you have any more questions, comments, or concerns you can post them here or send me a private message. I learned three important P's when I was in the Military: Polite, Professional, and Prepared (to Kill). We will stick with all three minus the kill part.
So there you have it kind Kossacks. Krazy has come to peaceful, beautiful Corvallis.