Funeral for Army Command Sgt. Maj. Benjamin Moore Jr

Services set for highly decorated Waycross soldier
Funeral for Army Command Sgt. Maj. Benjamin Moore Jr. to be in Blackshear
By Teresa Stepzinski Story updated at 1:05 PM on Monday, May. 4, 2009

Services for Army Command Sgt. Major Benjamin Moore Jr. of Waycross will be Saturday in Blackshear followed by burial May 12 at Arlington National Cemetery, family members said.

Moore, 43, died April 24 at U.S. Army Contingency Operating Base Speicher in northern Iraq of noncombat injuries received in Salah ad Din province, Army officials have said.

His funeral will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Emanuel Baptist Church, 217 W. Carter Ave. in Blackshear, one of Moore’s sisters, Teresa Brakes, told the Times-Union today.

“We still don’t know what happened, but we are grateful that we have his body here, and we can get some closure,” Brakes said.

Known affectionately as “Benny” to his 17 siblings, Moore will be buried May 12 in Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., she said.

The Army is flying all Moore’s siblings as well as his wife and children to the burial, Brakes, 50, said.

Investigation continues into his death, and no additional information will be released until it is concluded, Loran Doane, public affairs officer for the U.S. Army Garrison in Hawaii, where Moore had been stationed.

Noncombat deaths can result from vehicle or other accidents or natural causes, Army officials have said.

An expert infantryman, Moore earned 55 medals including a Bronze Star with Valor during his nearly 26-year career, with overseas service in Korea, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq. He also was air assault and airborne qualified.

Moore was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. His most recent deployment to Iraq began in October 2008.
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Services set for highly decorated Waycross soldier