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The following is reprinted with permission from the August 31, 2007 Burlington (NC) Times-News Gibsonville prepares for Friday memorial to fallen pilotBy Michael Abernethy /Times News GIBSONVILLE — Life in downtown Gibsonville will pause this afternoon as the community mourns the loss of one of its sons. After a 2 p.m. memorial service, a horse-drawn caisson carrying Army Chief Warrant Officer Josh Flynn will make its way from Gibsonville United Methodist Church to Gibsonville City Cemetery around 3 p.m. Friday. Alamance County deputies will direct traffic during the funeral procession, which will travel nearly three miles from the Methodist church at 501 Church St., left onto Main Street, right onto Piedmont Avenue and right onto Springwood Avenue to the cemetery. Motorists are asked to avoid downtown areas during the procession. Gibsonville Elementary School, located directly across the street from the church, will release at 2:25 p.m., its regular time. School administrators believe school traffic won’t interfere with the memorial service or procession, and two Alamance County deputies will direct traffic away from Main Street, Gibsonville, Police Chief Wayne Joiner said. Flynn’s tragic death last week — along with 13 other Army soldiers on Aug. 22 in northern Iraq — has consumed the small town. Flags there remain at half staff in honor of the town native who also graduated from Eastern Guilford High School.. Flynn, 28, died when a mechanical failure caused the Black Hawk helicopter carrying the soldiers to crash. Flynn was on his first tour in Iraq and had been in the Army 10 years. He had been piloting helicopters for several years. He leaves behind a 6-year-old son, Morgan, and an ex-wife, both of whom live in Clarksville, Tenn. VFW Post 2972 in Gibsonville has set up a memorial fund for Morgan. Anyone wishing to contribute can leave a donation at any North Carolina Fidelity Bank or make checks out to Deleno Flynn and mail them to Fidelity Bank at 237 East Main St., Gibsonville, NC 27249. |
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