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July 29, 2009

Duncan soldier’s funeral is Friday

Family to assemble at noon

Jayne Boykin

DUNCAN — The funeral for Spc. Dennis Pratt, who lost his life July 20 in combat in Afghanistan, will be at 2 p.m. Friday in Frontier Chapel at Fort Sill with Chaplain (Capt.) Namen Bouma, officiating. Interment will be in Fort Sill National Cemetery in Elgin under direction of Whinery-Huddleston Funeral Service of Lawton.

The Duncan community will turn out in force at noon to escort Pratt’s family from its home on North N Street in Duncan to the Stephens/Comanche county line, where others from Comanche County will meet them to continue the sad journey to Fort Sill. This is a change from the earlier-announced time for the procession to begin.

Local veterans organizations and others are asking Duncan residents to line the route the procession will take, waving flags and holding banners with messages of support as the procession passes by.

Duncan Mayor Gene Brown has issued a statement of condolence to the family and encourages the Duncan community to turn out to show its support for the family and its appreciation for Dennis Pratt’s sacrifice.

“I encourage everybody to go out along the route and show this family how much Duncan cares. Especially with the world in the situation in which it is now, with men and women risking their lives on the front line so we can enjoy the freedom and opportunities we have in America, the least we can do is show our support for this family and what their son did for his country,” Brown said.

At Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, Brown said all flags on City of Duncan buildings will be lowered to half staff in tribute to the fallen soldier as soon as Gov. Brad Henry authorizes it. A representative of the governor’s office has told The Banner that flags will be lowered statewide on Friday.

Pratt, who was a private first class at the time of his death, has been promoted to the rank of specialist, in keeping with military tradition, said his mother, Sinnamon Pratt of Duncan. He was assigned to 4th Battalion, 25th Field Artillery, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) out of Fort Drum, N.Y.

“When Dennis went into the Army, he listed Duncan as his hometown, and that’s the way he felt about it. He has a lot of friends here who will miss him a lot.”

The procession will begin at the Pratt home at 113 N. N, will turn onto Willow Avenue, proceed to Ridley Road, continue down Main Street to U.S. Highway 81, and then right onto the highway to the Lawton-Duncan Y, where it will turn left toward Lawton. It will be accompanied by officers from several law enforcement entities, veterans’ organizations and others, including the Patriot Guard Riders on motorcycles.

Duncan Police Chief Dan Ford said his department would be on the scene along the route to help direct traffic, and he, too, encouraged residents to line the route to show their support. Representatives from the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and other law enforcement organizations and veterans groups will participate.

Bob Mason, commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1192, said his post’s honor guard would be on the highway in front of the post home at 2012 N. U.S. Highway 81 to dip its colors in salute as the procession passes.

Pratt is the first known person from Duncan to die in combat in Afghanistan. The war touched the Stephens County area in 2006 when Lt. Col. Daniel E. Holland, 43, of San Antonio, Texas, died in a bomb blast in Iraq. Holland was a 1981 graduate of Marlow High School.

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