Pin Wizard
<font color=deeppink>I now have a new favorite at
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- Jan 8, 2002
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So sad! 
This man sounds like he was quite a person. Not enough of them around these days.
http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=81078&ran=87841
A small town grieves for one of its own
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=250 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=arial align=middle>Stephanie Patterson hugs her daughter, Claire, through tears during the service Monday in Sedley for her husband, Sgt. Jayton Patterson. JOHN H. SHEALLY II PHOTOS/THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
By LINDA MCNATT AND STEPHANIE HEINATZ, The Virginian-Pilot
© January 25, 2005
SEDLEY Theres not much Marine Cpl. Randy Saragusa remembers from the day late last year when a homemade bomb detonated while he searched an Iraqi town for hidden weapons.
A flash of light enveloped the area. Then an explosion, so loud that Saragusa vividly remembers the ringing. Pain came quickly. Sgt. Jayton Patterson, a country boy from Sedley, rushed to his side.
He saved my life, Saragusa said simply with the hardened voice of a Marine choking back tears. He stood early Monday afternoon just outside Whitleys Service Mart in Sedley, a tiny Southampton County town, quietly admitting to feeling guilt.
Saragusa, carrying a jagged scar from his forehead to his neck, will never be able to return Pattersons favor.
On Jan. 15, in Anbar province in Iraq, a bomb went off near Patterson, taking his life just weeks before he was scheduled to return home to his wife, Stephanie, and 15-month-old daughter Claire.
Saragusa , a 22-year-old from Louisiana, was among more than 600 people who gathered Monday to say goodbye to the 26-year-old college student-turned-Marine.
The mourners, including more than 50 Marines from around the country who served with Patterson , stood shoulder to shoulder in the sanctuary and fellowship hall of Millfield Baptist Church . Baskets and sprays of flowers, many of them in red, white and blue, covered the front of the church and spread across the altar.
Family pictures flashed across a movie screen in the sanctuary where Pattersons family has worshipped for years, the place where he and his wife were married. Photos of Patterson as an infant, a toddler, a young hunter. Images of his dogs and his pickup truck, of his parents, his brother and sister.
And finally, of his wife and baby girl.
In the center of it all, a flag-draped coffin held the man they all knew as loving, spiritual, friendly and funny.
[font=arial,helvetica]Sgt. Patterson, whose portrait was displayed by his coffin, was killed Jan. 15 in Iraq. [/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]Sgt. Nickolas Soares plays taps during the funeral. More than 50 Marines who served with Patterson attended the service. [/font]
Patterson, a son of Southampton County, grew up loving the fields, the woods, his home, family and friends.
This is the first time weve lost, the first time the war has touched our community, said Frances Joyner , a high school government teacher who graduated with Patterson in 1996 from Tidewater Academy in Wakefield Patterson, had bright blue eyes that could light up a room, Joyner said.
His life, and the hundreds of people he touched, spanned the county. He was born in Sedley, lived a few miles from Ivor and spent his last two years of high school in Wakefield .
His roots went deep into the rural community. His grandfather on his mothers side, Fred Worrell , was treasurer of Southampton County for years.
Patterson decided to join the Marine Corps after attending Bluefield College and then Liberty University.
As a young Marine fresh out of boot camp, Patterson was assigned to a detail in Washington. He traveled with President Bush when he went to view the carnage in New York City after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Last summer, Patterson was deployed to Iraq with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, based in Camp Lejeune . His squad uncovered more hidden insurgent weapons than any other in his company, the executive officer of the company said.
Southampton County schoolchildren excited to have a pen pal in the desert wrote to him often.
Church members who had watched Patterson turn into a man sent care packages to help get him through the days. And to show his appreciation, Patterson constantly wrote to them .
To his mother, he wrote, The battle Im in here is nothing compared to the spiritual battle going on in my heart.
To the church he wrote, Every day I can feel the prayers and the Godliness armor that has been placed around me and my Marines. I feel stronger everyday through prayer ... and have prepared for whatever the enemy could throw at me.
A couple of those letters were hanging on a bulletin board at the church.
People passing to read them wept at Pattersons last words and thanked God for having the chance to know him.
There is no more honorable way to live your life, Joyner said.
He was always doing something for his men, Saragusa said. I will never forget him for what he did. I cant forget him.
Reach Linda McNatt at 222-5561 or linda.mcnatt@pilotonline.com. Reach Stephanie Heinatz at 222-5563 or stephanie.heinatz@pilotonline.com.
[font=arial,helvetica]Company Executive Officer 1st Lt. Scott Swantner, left, and Cpl. Randy Saragusa stop in Sedley on their way to Millfield Baptist Church, Pattersons church in Ivor. He saved my life, Saragusa said of Patterson. [/font]
This man sounds like he was quite a person. Not enough of them around these days.http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=81078&ran=87841
A small town grieves for one of its own
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=250 align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
© January 25, 2005
SEDLEY Theres not much Marine Cpl. Randy Saragusa remembers from the day late last year when a homemade bomb detonated while he searched an Iraqi town for hidden weapons.
A flash of light enveloped the area. Then an explosion, so loud that Saragusa vividly remembers the ringing. Pain came quickly. Sgt. Jayton Patterson, a country boy from Sedley, rushed to his side.
He saved my life, Saragusa said simply with the hardened voice of a Marine choking back tears. He stood early Monday afternoon just outside Whitleys Service Mart in Sedley, a tiny Southampton County town, quietly admitting to feeling guilt.
Saragusa, carrying a jagged scar from his forehead to his neck, will never be able to return Pattersons favor.
On Jan. 15, in Anbar province in Iraq, a bomb went off near Patterson, taking his life just weeks before he was scheduled to return home to his wife, Stephanie, and 15-month-old daughter Claire.
Saragusa , a 22-year-old from Louisiana, was among more than 600 people who gathered Monday to say goodbye to the 26-year-old college student-turned-Marine.
The mourners, including more than 50 Marines from around the country who served with Patterson , stood shoulder to shoulder in the sanctuary and fellowship hall of Millfield Baptist Church . Baskets and sprays of flowers, many of them in red, white and blue, covered the front of the church and spread across the altar.
Family pictures flashed across a movie screen in the sanctuary where Pattersons family has worshipped for years, the place where he and his wife were married. Photos of Patterson as an infant, a toddler, a young hunter. Images of his dogs and his pickup truck, of his parents, his brother and sister.
And finally, of his wife and baby girl.
In the center of it all, a flag-draped coffin held the man they all knew as loving, spiritual, friendly and funny.
[font=arial,helvetica]Sgt. Patterson, whose portrait was displayed by his coffin, was killed Jan. 15 in Iraq. [/font]
[font=arial,helvetica]Sgt. Nickolas Soares plays taps during the funeral. More than 50 Marines who served with Patterson attended the service. [/font]
Patterson, a son of Southampton County, grew up loving the fields, the woods, his home, family and friends.
This is the first time weve lost, the first time the war has touched our community, said Frances Joyner , a high school government teacher who graduated with Patterson in 1996 from Tidewater Academy in Wakefield Patterson, had bright blue eyes that could light up a room, Joyner said.
His life, and the hundreds of people he touched, spanned the county. He was born in Sedley, lived a few miles from Ivor and spent his last two years of high school in Wakefield .
His roots went deep into the rural community. His grandfather on his mothers side, Fred Worrell , was treasurer of Southampton County for years.
Patterson decided to join the Marine Corps after attending Bluefield College and then Liberty University.
As a young Marine fresh out of boot camp, Patterson was assigned to a detail in Washington. He traveled with President Bush when he went to view the carnage in New York City after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Last summer, Patterson was deployed to Iraq with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, based in Camp Lejeune . His squad uncovered more hidden insurgent weapons than any other in his company, the executive officer of the company said.
Southampton County schoolchildren excited to have a pen pal in the desert wrote to him often.
Church members who had watched Patterson turn into a man sent care packages to help get him through the days. And to show his appreciation, Patterson constantly wrote to them .
To his mother, he wrote, The battle Im in here is nothing compared to the spiritual battle going on in my heart.
To the church he wrote, Every day I can feel the prayers and the Godliness armor that has been placed around me and my Marines. I feel stronger everyday through prayer ... and have prepared for whatever the enemy could throw at me.
A couple of those letters were hanging on a bulletin board at the church.
People passing to read them wept at Pattersons last words and thanked God for having the chance to know him.
There is no more honorable way to live your life, Joyner said.
He was always doing something for his men, Saragusa said. I will never forget him for what he did. I cant forget him.
Reach Linda McNatt at 222-5561 or linda.mcnatt@pilotonline.com. Reach Stephanie Heinatz at 222-5563 or stephanie.heinatz@pilotonline.com.
[font=arial,helvetica]Company Executive Officer 1st Lt. Scott Swantner, left, and Cpl. Randy Saragusa stop in Sedley on their way to Millfield Baptist Church, Pattersons church in Ivor. He saved my life, Saragusa said of Patterson. [/font]
Beautiful tribute. These sad heartbreaking stories are every military Mom, Dad, wife, husband, brother, sister, daughter, son's, greatest fear. What a brave young man, trying to make a difference, to give his life for his country. Thank you dear soldier. May God watch over your family as you rest in peace.
Sandie
