I promised more about Jerry Montgomery's stolen boots. And I have delivered. Just click the link below to read an early edition of the story.

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The quality isn't great, but I thought you might enjoy hearing the eulogies from the memorial service for Sgt. Blair W. Emery.

Maj. Gary D. Fitts called Emery "a special breed of soldier."

Maj. Jeffrey Knudson said Emery was a "natural leader."

Staff Sgt. Roy Parker fought back tears and said his platoon admired him.

1st. Lt. Randy Schilling remembered Emery's honesty.

Chaplain Douglas Yates praised Emery's courage.

And here's the final roll call, rifle salute and playing of Taps.

Click below to read an early edition of my story from the Fort Lewis memorial service.

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It was evident at his memorial service that Sgt. Blair W. Emery made quite an impact on those around him. The full story from the service at the Evergreen Chapel at Fort Lewis will be online soon, but here are some quotes from his colleagues (including some that won’t be in tomorrow’s story):

Maj. Gary D. Fitts stood out among others in his company.

“Blair Emery was a special breed of soldier,” he said. “Sgt. Emery was selected by our gunner by his platoon leadership because of his maturity, professionalism, and proficiency. He was the best at what he did.”

Maj. Jeffrey Knudson said the unit had lost soldiers already, and he hoped they would stay safe before the end of their deployment.

“I was hoping they were going to make it all the way until January, when they’d be back, without having to lose anyone else.”

Emery turned down opportunities to put in for sergeant – and for good reason.

“It wasn’t because he was unwilling or unable,” Knudson said. “In fact, it was quite the contrary; he had proved that numerous times. He just felt like he shouldn’t take those sergeant stripes away from somebody else who wanted to make a career out of the Army.”

He’s what his superiors looked for in a soldier.

“Other soldiers looked to him for his guidance, his direction and his initiative,” Knudson said. “And his chain of command looked to him too, regularly, because they knew he inspired those around him and kept them going. His attitude was contagious.”

Staff Sgt. Roy Parker, fighting back tears, spoke glowingly of his former platoonmate.

“Sgt. Emery stood out with his experience, his knowledge, attitude, athleticism, charisma, sense of humor and ability,” he said. “Members of our platoon respected him and admired him in every way.”

Emery absolutely loved his wife, Parker said.

“He would talk about his wife, and it would make my teeth hurt it was so sweet,” he said. “They loved each other so much. He had her name tattooed around his ring finger. That’s how dedicated he was to her. And I’m sorry he’s been taken away.”

First Lt. Randy Schilling loved Emery’s attitude.

“One of the main things that stood out about him was that he didn’t hold anything back,” he said. “Emery was a straight-forward guy. If anyone asked him his opinion, he would give it to you. And most of the time, it was guaranteed that you weren’t going to like it. It was the combination of his sarcasm and honest opinion that made it easy to digest.”

Click below to see another photo of Emery:

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Emery

I'm about to head to Fort Lewis for the memorial service of Sgt. Blair Emery. I've found some stories from his home state in Maine that I thought you might want to read.

Here's the story from the Bangor Daily News reporting his death.

An Associated Press story about a hometown memorial service can be found here, The Portland Press Herald's take is here, the Boston Globe's is here and the Bangor Daily News' article is here.

The Portland Press-Herald ran a story about how Lee, population 845, is dealing with two deaths from the war in Iraq.

Folks from the Hilltop Action Coalition are meeting with Gov. Chris Gregoire today to discuss budget recommendations based on task force recommendations stemming from the Zina Linnik killing.

I left a message with the HAC folks to get their take on what happened.

The coalition also wrote there is a group "now meeting in a collaborative way to transform the McCarver Playfield into the Zina Linnik Celebration Park, hoping to encompass aspects of Zina's life while providing a safe, wonderful place for children to play."

If you're interested, e-mail hac@harbornet.com.

I’m wrapping up my writing on the strange case of the free-yet-expensive fireboots in Lakewood this morning.

At noon, I’m heading to Fort Lewis for the memorial service of Sgt. Blair W. Emery, a Fort Lewis soldier who was killed in Iraq. He was Lee, Maine, and assigned to the 571st Military Police Company when he was killed by an improvised explosive device in Baquoba, Iraq.