Flags blew in the wind, quietly waving goodbye to army Captain Jason Holbrook, while hundreds of friends and family filled First Baptist Church in Burnet.
Outside, the group United Protectors of Fallen Soldiers stood guard against any possible anti-war protests outside of the funeral. There were none.
“They need to have their peace with their son. So that's why we're here,” Juliette Oldaker said.
Oldaker and her husband Steve have a son in Afghanistan and say what the Holbrooks are going through hits home for them, why they drove for an hour to be there.
The peaceful silence outside the hour-long funeral was a contrast to what had become the soundtrack to life in Burnet this past week, the song Angel Flight by country music singer Radney Foster. People in Burnet say they have been listening to that song all week long, and thinking of the man they know as Jason.
Friday, crowds stood in the scorching sun for hours awaiting the transport of Captain Holbrook's body to Burnet. The local HEB grocery store handed out yellow roses and American flags for people to hold as the caravan entered town. Signs of respect hung everywhere for the 2000 Burnet High School graduate. Many residents told KVUE that the outpouring of support for Captain Holbrook's family is what makes the town of Burnet so special and unique. Several said that they want the family to know that their support will continue long after the funeral.
Captain Holbrook began his military career with a Congressional appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. After graduation, he rose to the rank of Captain and became a member of the Army’s elite Special Forces, the Green Berets. His experience led him to Afghanistan where he was leading a convoy, in late July, when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device, or i.e.d., on July 29.
Steven Oldaker said, “From what I understand was quite a soldier and quite a career. And, there's just no words to describe for any of these families that have to go through one of these kind of funerals.”
At the end of the service, military comrades saluted Captain Holbrook, as fellow green berets carried his flag-draped coffin. And, as the white hearse rolled away to carry Captain Holbrook to his final resting place, the community stood in silent salute once again, to their hero who has come home.
