On a 9-Pointed Star on a Tombstone: Eddie died in Baghdad
Chen, of Saipan, Marianas Protectorate, was given a standard honors funeral. As a U.S. Army firing party fired three volleys, soldiers held an American flag over his casket. The flag was later presented to his parents, Cheng-Pin and Yu Mei Chen, along with his medals. A Buddhist monk chanted over the casket. Near the end of the service, a small butterfly appeared and flew by.
Sunday, April 25, 2004
CNMI war hero laid to rest at Arlington
Army Sergeant Yihjyh "Eddie" Chen, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands' first casualty in the war in Iraq, was buried Friday at the Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. The funeral was attended by Chen's parents, who live on Guam, and more than 60 other people from Guam and Saipan and members of the Armed Services. Chen, who was with the 1st Cavalry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas, was one of eight soldiers killed during an attack in Sadr City, Iraq on April 4, 2004.
There is no reference to Eddie being a Baha'i on the Arlington Cemetary website entry about him, but there is that 9-pointed star, symbol of the Baha'i Faith, on his gravestone. Eddie died in Baghdad, "the third holiest city of the Bahá’í world," where Baha'u'llah himself spent so many years of His exile. -gw
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