babbitt.html

	Schoolchildren line the street in Sabinal, Texas, for the funeral procession of U.S. Army Spc. Travis Babbitt.

An honor guard carries the coffin of Army Spc. Travis Babbitt, who was killed in Iraq, by St. Patrick's Church in Sabinal.

In a small Texas town
A funeral for a soldier

A funeral was held in Sabinal, Texas, on Nov. 19, 2004.

Two women wore black and cried.

One, a middle-aged, but youngish woman of 44, cried for her son.

The other clutched a crucifix as tears rolled down her perfect brown skin, far too young to have been wrinkled by years. And she was far too young to be experiencing death like this. The death of her husband, a soldier who died in Iraq.

He was U.S. Army Spc. Travis Babbitt, who died fighting the stubborn resistance in Fallujah, Iraq. He had experienced many battles during his deployment with the 1st Cavarly Division from Ft. Hood, Texas. He had recentlly "re-upped" for six more years in the army.

The women sat side by side, crying for the same man.

Everyone said he was a good man and a good soldier.

Above, Anita Babbitt, wife of U.S. Army Spc. Travis Babbitt, left, and his mother, Kathy Hernandez, receive flags from Army representatives during his funeral.

Kathy Hernandez, mother of U.S. Army Spc. Travis Babbitt, is comforted by her husband, Barney Hernandez.

Photos by Billy Calzada
http://www.billycalzada.com

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