ENID -- Mournful family and friends paid homage to Army Staff Sgt. Clint J. Storey on Wednesday and shared in a poignant message of love and devotion from his mother.

"You were my hero long before you joined the military," Carol Storey Inherst wrote in remembrance of her son after his death Aug. 4 in a roadside bomb attack at Ramadi, Iraq.

"I have worried and prayed every day that you would return home safely from Iraq. But God had other plans for you," the letter continued.

"We also find comfort in knowing that you left this world doing what you loved, fighting to defend this country and its freedoms.

"My baby boy, you have made your mark in this world and you will never be forgotten.

"Laying you to rest will be the hardest thing I will have to do in my life. With your spirit beside me, I know I can make it through anything."

During the funeral at Central Christian Church, others who knew Storey, 30, described his valor and his commitment in the fight for freedom.

That valor and commitment were honored by more than just friends and family.

The tribute to Storey extended to hundreds of flag-waving residents as the funeral procession slowly made its way northward along Van Buren Street, then onto West Willow Road to the Enid Cemetery, where he was memorialized with a three-volley