Dalton Soldier Laid to Rest

A North Georgia soldier killed in the line of duty is laid to rest.

Private Thomas Lee the Third's funeral was held Saturday. The ceremony, however, was rather unique, and his family sees it as a fitting tribute.

Private Lee was laid to rest at the Chattanooga National Cemetery. Staff Sergeant Kevin Barrantes, who served with the soldier, says, "That's the one that always sticks out in my mind. The first time he started riding around in a tank...how smooth he said the ride was. He said it was like a cadillac, that's what he said."

Sgt. Barrantes also brought his body back home to Dalton. He remembers Lee as a man who loved what he was doing. "He was a happy young man. He enjoyed the military. He would always address you with the proper respect, and he always did the best he could in the military," Barrantes said.

Now, Barrantes, along with family, friends and the Patriot Guard, are going with him to final resting place. But they're doing so in a unique way...

"It's a very different funeral procession. For one thing, the body was cremated, and the family has requested that we carry his remains on our bikes. So we are using one of the bikes as our Hearse," Jan Johnson of the Patriot Guard said.

The reason they're doing that is because the last time he was home, he promised his mother a motorcycle ride into the sunset. Johnson said, "We're fulfilling that wish. He's going to be on that bike, riding off into the sunset. And mom's going to be right behind him."

It's something Sgt. Barrantes says Private Lee would approve of.

"I'm pretty sure he's up there with a big smile. The one he always had on his face."