UPDATE: Corrected address for Tuesday’s funeral.
.
PORT ANGELES — The flag-draped coffin carrying the body of Navy Seabee Joshua Dae Ho Carrell was given a hero’s homecoming Saturday.
Mr. Carrell, a Navy petty officer third class who died at the age of 23 of complications from malaria, will be buried with full military honors Tuesday.
A procession of 27 Patriot Guard Riders on their motorcycles escorted a hearse carrying Mr. Carrell’s body from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Harper-Ridgeview Funeral Chapel in Port Angeles on Saturday.
About 15 cars carrying friends and family joined the procession in Sequim on the final leg of the journey back to Port Angeles, where he had graduated from high school in 2005.
His mother, Rhonda Carrell of Port Angeles, sobbed while standing among about 30 of Mr. Carrell’s family and friends as Navy service members, Patriot Guard Riders and Harper-Ridgeview staff carefully unloaded her son’s coffin.
“Thank you,” she said after hugging two of them. “Thank you for bringing him home.”
A military boot ceremony with an upturned rifle and helmet is scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday at the Independent Bible Church, 116 E. Ahlvers Road, Port Angeles.
It will be followed by Mr. Carrell’s burial, which will include full military honors, at 2 p.m. that day at Mount Angeles Memorial Park cemetery, 45 Monroe Road, Port Angeles.
The graveside service will feature bagpipes and a 21-gun salute.
Between 300 and 400 people, including military personnel from Europe and Africa, are expected to attend, said Sandy Sinnes, Mr. Carrell’s godmother.
Saturday’s procession passed about 20 military veterans and other Clallam County residents who stood alongside U.S. Highway 101 at Deer Park Road, near C’est Si Bon restaurant, with U.S. flags to show their respect to the man from Port Angeles.
Another 20 Patriot Guard Riders, mostly veterans, also greeted the coffin with two columns of flags at Harper-Ridgeview.
Mr. Carell died on Dec. 26 at a hospital in Germany.
The petty officer third class with Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 3 caught malaria while working on a humanitarian project in Monrovia, Liberia.
His coffin was flown into from Dover, Del., Saturday morning.
About 400 mourners attended a service for Mr. Carrell at Naval Station Rota in Spain last Tuesday.
Grateful for tribute
His brother, Jason Carrell, 35, of Port Angeles, said Saturday that the family is grateful for the “overwhelming” show of support from the community and the Patriot Guard Riders, which provided a “most and definitely” fitting tribute to his brother.
“It’s been truly amazing,” he said, adding that the family has received more than 100 flowers and cards.
Jim Dickson, assistant state captain for the Western Washington Patriot Guard Riders, said that the riders were giving Mr. Carrell the respect that everyone who serves in the military should receive.
“Our folks in the military these days, they deserve everything that we can give them,” said the Vietnam veteran from Grapeview. “Because they stand out there in harms way,” he added.
“So many of us take our freedoms for granted. They are not free.”
Mr. Carrell was born in South Korea and adopted by his late father, Dean Carrell, when he was 14 months old.
He graduated from Port Angeles High School in 2005 and enlisted in the Navy in 2006.
After enlisting, Mr. Carrell served a tour in Iraq and helped build railroad stations.
In addition to his brother and mother, Mr. Carrell is survived by his sister, Shelly, 32, who also lives in Port Angeles.
________
Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
