War hero laid to rest in Mililani
Photos by Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
Members of the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment based at Schofield Barracks carry the flag-draped casket of Sgt. Eugene Williams to its final resting place at Mililani Memorial Park. Williams was with the Schofield battalion from April 1998 to 2001.
By Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writer
Sgt. Eugene Williams, 24, was laid to rest with full military honors yesterday at Mililani Memorial Park.
Williams, who was killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq on March 29, was also posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
"Sgt. Williams' duty performance as an infantryman while participating in the combat operations to liberate Iraq is in keeping with the highest standards of selfless service, and reflect great credit on himself," said a letter read to the gathering that was signed by Thomas E. White, secretary of the Army.
Ulysses Williams says goodbye to his son, Sgt. Eugene Williams, before his casket is interred at Mililani Memorial Park. Behind him are Sgt. Williams' wife, Brandy, left, and mother, Betty, right.
Park flags were flown at half-staff as members of the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment from Schofield Barracks carried Williams' silver casket past dozens of mourners to the burial plot on a Mililani hillside overlooking miles of scenic greenery and Pearl Harbor in the distance.
Williams was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment from April 1998 to 2001.
Williams' widow, Brandy Williams of Waipahu, wept during a 21-gun salute and taps, as the couple's 3-year-old daughter, Mya, tried to make sense of what was happening around her. Brandy is expecting the couple's second child in June.
Williams' parents, Ulysses and Betty Williams of Highland, N.Y., were overcome with grief as the casket was slowly lowered into the ground. Also present was Williams' sister Lori Ann Ackert, who sang at the service, and brothers Gerry and Army Pfc. Eric Williams, who was stationed in Iraq at the same time as Eugene.
Maj. Gen. Eric T. Olson, commanding general of the 25th Infantry Division (Light), spoke quietly with Williams' wife as he presented her with the folded flag that had been draped over the coffin. Likewise, the general spoke softly with Williams' parents as he presented them with a second flag.
Betty Williams wept and leaned on the shoulder of her husband, Ulysses, after Maj. Gen. Eric T. Olson presented them with the American flag that had draped their son's casket.
Otherwise, the general made no statement during the service. There was no eulogy. At the family's request, no media interviews were conducted.
Following the service, several who had known Williams during his time in Hawai'i recalled their friend as a dedicated and competent soldier who never hesitated to offer assistance to any of his men.
"I knew him at least two years at Schofield," said Chaplain (Maj.) Gregory Edison. "He was an outstanding individual. He was dedicated to his job, family and God."
"I served with him for six months in Sinai, Egypt, and about four months prior to that," said Sgt. Aaron Gaddis. "He was a dedicated NCO who cared a lot about his soldiers and a lot about the mission."
One of Williams' closest friends, Sgt. Eric Robledo, served as an honorary pallbearer. He and Williams became buddies after the two met at Schofield Barracks in 1998.
"Actually, I wasn't in Eugene's battalion," Robledo said. "My wife, Christine, is from Hawai'i — born and raised. And his wife and my wife grew up together and were best friends. That's how I met him. And from then on, we'd go out on double dates on weekends.
Brandy Williams wipes away tears and is comforted by her father, Robert Dela Cruz, during the firing of the 21-gun salute at the funeral for her husband, Sgt. Eugene Williams.
"We spent a lot of time together. He was real fun."
Robledo described Williams as a man with two main focuses — his family, and taking care of his soldiers. But there was another passion: music.
"He was into music big time. He was a real good singer. His vocals were excellent. I wish I was as good a singer.
"When we were together last Christmas, he was singing a song he had been working on called, 'Walk Away.' It was a very touching song. I think it was dedicated to his wife. But he never did get to finish it."
The two soldiers remained close even after Robledo was transferred to Fort Bragg, N.C., in 2001, and Williams went to Fort Benning, Ga., about 400 miles away.
"He was funny and outgoing," recalled Christine Robledo. "We would always joke around and kind of pick on each other. We were just always laughing."
Sgt. Eric Robledo described Sgt. Eugene Williams as a man with two main focuses — his family, and taking care of his soldiers.
The last time the Robledos saw Williams was in North Carolina on New Year's. Christine said she was stunned when Brandy Williams called to tell them Eugene had been killed north of Najaf when a man posing as a taxi driver detonated a car bomb after beckoning for help. Three other soldiers were killed.
"I just couldn't believe it," she said. "You see this on the news all the time, but you never think that it will hit so close to home."
Donations can be made to City Bank in the name of Mya and Brandy Williams.
