CT/E.L. HUBBARD

Staff Sgt. Matt Maupin’s casket is led into Gate of Heaven Cemetery on a horse-drawn caisson, as his mother and father, Carolyn and Keith, are escorted by an Army representative.

Rest in peace

By Eileen Connelly, OSU

ARCHDIOCESE — After an emotional farewell at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park on April 27, Staff Sgt. Matt Maupin, a 20-year-old soldier whose patriotism inspired the community, was laid to rest during a private ceremony at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Montgomery.

Although Maupin’s family is not Catholic, his parents, Keith and Carolyn, requested that their son be buried at Gate of Heaven because it is a place of faith and peace, said Vickie Fisher, family services and operations manager at the cemetery.

"His mother said they wanted Matt to buried in faith-based cemetery because they are faith-based family," Fisher said, recalling her initial conversation with the Maupins, who live in Batavia.

Maupin was guarding a convoy in Baghdad in 2004 when attackers took him captive and killed two fellow soldiers. He appeared shortly afterward on a videotape, indicating that his captors threatened to kill him, but no one was sure of his fate until his body was found last month by U.S. soldiers northwest of Baghdad.

Because Catholic funerals are not generally allowed on solemnities of obligation, including Sundays during the Easter season, it was necessary to obtain permission from Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk to honor the Maupins’ request for the timing of their son’s service.

"The archbishop graciously allowed a Sunday burial," Fisher said. "He said he would never stand in the way of a hero being buried on a Sunday."

From there, preparations moved quickly as Fisher coordinated plans for the funeral with Army personnel and Maupin’s parents. "We went out and visited several areas of the cemetery," Fisher said. "They loved the area and were very grateful. As they were leaving, Mrs. Maupin said she was totally at peace with their decision. That was good to hear."

"It was an absolute honor to be asked to lay this young man to rest at Gate of Heaven, a place that will take excellent care of him from now on," Fisher added. "He became such a national treasure who brought the community together as we prayed for him every day. This was an opportunity to celebrate the fact that he has finally come home."

Maupin was buried with full military honors. Upon arriving at Gate of Heaven, his casket was transported to the gravesite by a horse-drawn caisson. Col. Dale Ellens, an Army chaplain, spoke briefly to Maupin’s family members and close friends, then a 21-gun salute rang out. Following the formal folding and presentation of the flag that had draped the casket, the mournful sound of taps echoed across the cemetery.

After the burial, visitors continued stop by Maupin’s grave, spending a few quiet moments in prayer.

The area where Maupin is buried adjoins Gate of Heaven’s infant garden and is located in a new part of the cemetery, Fisher said. She will be meeting with the Maupins in the near future to specific discuss plans for area, which will include a veteran’s garden and a shrine that that is both religious and military in nature.

Maupin became the sixth serviceperson who died in Iraq to be buried at Gate of Heaven. The others are Army Spc. James Miller; Lance Cpl. Michael Cifuentes and Lance Cpl. Brett Wightman, all of whom were killed in 2005; Lance Cpl. Bryan Taylor, who died in 2006, and Army Spc. Michael Frank, who died in 2007.