By Josh Mitchell/Informer Publisher

Three Marion County soldiers who were killed in the Iraq war are being remembered as heroes by family and friends this Memorial Day weekend.

James Chance, Saburant Parker and Christopher McCraw gave their lives serving their country. Memorial Day is a time to remember those who have died in military service.

 Christopher McCraw

McCraw’s mother, Cathy, said Christopher wanted to go to Iraq so his son and niece would not have to live through another Sept. 11. McCraw, a specialist in the Army, was only 23-years-old when he was killed Oct. 14, 2008 by sniper fire.

Cathy is proud of the sacrifice her son made for the United States. “He thought he was making (the United States) safer,” Cathy told the Marion County Informer on Friday. “I’m more proud of him than you could imagine.”

Christopher’s son will turn 3-years-old in July, and Cathy said, “Father’s Day breaks my heart. I hate all the things he’s going to miss.”

Cathy broke down into tears talking about her son, saying, “I talked to him every day, and he wanted to come home so badly. I miss him every day, but he died doing what he thought was right.”

She wants all the soldiers to come back from Iraq and Afghanistan. “So many of them (soldiers) don’t come home whole, physically or emotionally,” she said. “They’re just kids.”

She said it is good that her son’s service to the country is remembered during Memorial Day. “I’m glad people have not forgotten,” she said. “He was a good kid, and he was going to be a great young man.”

James Chance

Marion County resident James Chance was only 25 years-old when he was killed by a land mine in Iraq on Nov. 6, 2003. Chance, a specialist in the National Guard, has been immortalized in Marion County with the Armory on U.S. Highway 98 in Columbia being named in his honor.

Chance loved the military and died serving the country, said his older brother, Allen Chance of Kokomo. If there were not soldiers like his brother fighting for freedom, terrorists would be attacking the United States, said Allen.

Chance would “eat, sleep and breathe” the military, said Allen, adding his brother came from a family of soldiers. His father was a Vietnam veteran and his grandfather served in World War II.

Chance could hardly wait to enlist in the military and joined the Army right after graduating from West Marion in 1997.

Allen said his mother does not talk about the loss of James because it is too hurtful. Losing Chance made the family grow tighter, said Allen, adding he is very proud of his brother. He described him as an outgoing and honest person who “never met a stranger.”

Saburant Parker

Saburant Parker of Foxworth was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq on May 23, 2005. Three other members of his unit were also killed in the explosion.  Parker’s best friend, David Peak of Columbia, said he was a patriotic person who died protecting the United States from terrorism.

“You know anyone who does something like that is a hero,” Peak said of his friend.

Peak met Parker in 1988 when they both participated in the Mississippi Championship Wrestling Circuit.

“He’d help anyone in this world in anyway he could,” said Peak, adding that he misses Parker daily. Parker was married and had two daughters. Parker’s family members could not be reached for comment for this story.