In-Class Editing

PANORA, Iowa. – This small town welcomed home one of its soldiers Friday, but instead of jubilant well-wishers, there were 525 mourners who packed every corner of the United Methodist Church. Instead of a parade down Main Street, there was a stream of cars that stretched from the church to the West Cemetery outside of town.

There were flags at half-staff; there were red, white, and blue ribbons tied to flower sprays around the altar, and there were tears – of grief, not joy.

Army Spc. Michael Mills was one of 28 people killed Feb. 25 when an Iraqi suicide bomb exploded. To the rest of the country, he was one of 191 Americans killed in the war, but to the 1,100 people in Panora, Mike Mills was the 23-year-old hometown boy who carried on a family tradition by joining the Army.

His funeral Friday provided a somber contrast to the joyous reunions held for returning troops throughout the country.