Army salutes military hero
SEWICKLEY, Allegheny County — Maj. Gen. Todd Semonite told the 200 mourners at the burial of Army Staff Sgt. Eric Holman that when the crisp memories of the young soldier, father, husband and son begin to fade, one truth will never die: Holman was an American hero.
Semonite on Monday said Holman, 39, of Evans City, was one of the Army's elite because of his decision to leave the U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team and join Fort Bragg's 767th Explosive Ordnance Disposition Battalion on the front lines in Afghanistan.
“He said 'I'm not going to do the regular job. I'm going to do the hard job,'” Semonite said, “and joining the EOD is the hardest job you can have.”
Semonite spoke of Holman's exacting and determined personality, and of the professionalism he showed to his comrades in the 767th in their dangerous, yet vital assignment of bomb disposal.
“Make no mistake, Eric was one of the best EOD technicians out there,” Semonite said.
Holman was buried Monday afternoon at the Mount Nebo Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Sewickley in the full military burial he earned. Holman was killed in Afghanistan on Aug. 15 when the bomb he was defusing detonated.
Holman received three posthumous military awards, the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star and the Meritorious Service Medal, at the Devlin Funeral Home in Cranberry Township before his cremated remains were moved to the cemetery.
The procession was led by two Allegheny County Bomb Squad units and escorted by the American Legion Riders and the Combat Veterans, both of Butler, as well as the Patriot Guard Riders.
Three bagpipers led a gleaming black horse-drawn caisson carrying the small gold urn containing the soldier's cremated remains to the grave. Following were eight of Holman's comrades from the 767th and Holman's family, which included his 7-year-old son, Misha.Once the family was seated under a tent placed over the grave, two EOD technicians broke formation to march toward the caisson. One soldier lifted the urn while the other retrieved a folded flag accompanying the remains, and the duo returned to formation.The eight soldiers, clad in their dress uniforms, then marched the urn and flag to a podium under the tent.The Rev. Dave Lewis, a Methodist minister who enjoyed skydiving with Holman for 20 years as a civilian, opened the ceremony with a prayer before telling those gathered that Holman “never ran away from anything” and “was always quick to take control or assume responsibility.”Dave Coughlin, a longtime friend of Holman's as well as his first skydiving instructor, said Holman's passion for skydiving was eclipsed only by his drive to serve his country, as evidenced by his decision to leave his beloved Golden Knights to become an EOD technician.“There were so many that he touched through the chapters of his life,” Coughlin said. “Eric touched all of us.”Semonite, who traveled from his Army office in Atlanta for the occasion, glanced at Holman's young son during his comments.“An American hero is someone who puts his life on the line and goes away to a far-off land and sets the conditions for our children to be safe and enjoy the freedoms of democracy.”Semonite said as a member of the Golden Knights, Holman had done 2,600 free falls and 1,100 ceremonial demonstrations, but elected to go to the front lines with the EOD team.
He said because Holman had a criminal justice degree from Penn State, he could have been an officer. But Holman enlisted so he could pursue a hands-on roll in the fight for liberty.Ending his comments, Semonite told Holman's family that their loved one is now making every jump with the Golden Knights, and watching over each of his comrades in the 767th as they work over explosives.“Today, we mark the passing of a truly great American,” Semonite said.Capt. Eric Gass of the 316th ESC, U.S. Army Reserves in Coraopolis, then oversaw the “blossoming,” the unfolding of the flag that accompanied Holman's remains by the 316ths' Pallbearer's unit.The flag was refolded by the six uniformed pallbearers, and Gass issued the command for the seven Army shooters to fire the three-round volley that signified Holman's gun salute.The plaintive notes of taps were played by a bugler from the 316th, and Gass slowly marched the folded flag to Semonite. The general saluted the flag, touched it to the urn, and marched it to young Misha Holman.The two-star general squatted to meet the young boy's gaze and presented the flag to him while whispering a few words.Three more flags were ceremoniously saluted, touched to the golden urn, and presented to Holman's wife, mother, and father.“Please accept this flag on behalf of the president, the U.S. Army, and a grateful nation for Eric's faithful and honorable service,” Semonite said to each of the adults.
Holman's mother wept quietly and hugged Semonite tightly after receiving her flag. A seemingly reverent Misha Holman held his flag in his lap and fingered the bright white stars.When the ceremony was concluded, Holman's comrades stood at attention on both sides of the walkway and raised a salute as his family passed by.Some mourners waited in line under the tent after the ceremony to approach Holman's remains for a final goodbye. One man opened a flask, took a drink, tapped the flask on the urn and raised it in the air, his eyes never leaving the urn.After the crowd dispersed, each EOD technician from the 767th approached the urn one by one and saluted it before removing the gleaming silver EOD badge from his uniform and placing it on the blue velvet podium near the urn.The eight badges were placed in the burial vault with Holman's remains prior to interment.After the ceremony, Semonite said Holman was motivated by his desire to make a difference in the world, and that he was “unbelievably proud” to hand the flags to the Holman family members.But Semonite said while Holman was an elite member of the U.S. Army and his EOD unit, he was first and foremost committed to those waiting back home.“He never took his eye off his family and the community that makes America so strong,” he said.
