Family, friends and strangers wept on Wednesday at a memorial for Army Sgt. Anthony J. Schober, killed May 12 in Iraq.
"We can never be the land of the free without being the home of the brave," said Gov. Jim Gibbons, one of several speakers at the afternoon service near the Vietnam War Memorial in Carson City's Mills Park. Others included Congressman Dean Heller, representatives for the offices of Sens. Harry Reid and John Ensign, Mayor Marv Teixeira and Tim Tetz of Veterans of Nevada.
Schober, 23, of Gardnerville, was serving his third tour of duty in Iraq when he was killed along with four other 10th Mountain Division soldiers south of Baghdad. Two other soldiers remain missing " Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Mass., and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich.
Though Schober's uncle Robert Schober had agreed to be master of ceremonies for the event, the task proved too daunting for the grieving man. Whenever his voice broke and he was unable to go on, Sen. John Ensign's representative, Matthew Baril, would take over.
"Sgt. Schober selflessly served others. His loyalty to serve our nation ... ," said Robert Schober before he was unable to continue.
"... reflected the integrity and value (with which) he was raised," Baril finished.
Mayor Teixeira told Schober's family Carson City was proud to be their home.
"Please know that the arms of this community embrace you and we grieve for you," he said.
Heller quoted comments left by readers on the Nevada Appeal message board.
"Rest easy soldier. You are a hero and will forever walk with heroes," Heller said. "Anthony is not going to be forgotten."
Heller also presented a flag that had flown over the Capitol in Washington, D.C., and a proclamation signed by himself, Reid and Ensign to Schober's father Edward.
"I believe someday you will be together again," Heller said.
Edward Schober, clinging to his daughter Rebecca, addressed the crowd of about 100.
"I am very proud of him. I always was and stood 100 percent behind him," he said.
Then Edward, Rebecca, Teixeira, Heller and Gibbons took golden shovels and threw dirt around a sapling planted for Anthony.
There will eventually be a bench there and a plaque bearing his name donated by the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
The Nevada Army National Guard presented the 21-gun salute and Edward was presented with the shell casings; he shared them with his ex-wife, Anthony's mother. At a reception at the VFW Hall following the memorial the family received a flag that had flown over the Nevada Capitol and a presentation of the Blue to Gold ceremony by the Blue Star Mothers of Nevada.
"I think this memorial was very appropriate," said Edward Schober. "I am very proud of everyone that supported us and those still serving over there."
Anthony Schober is also survived by his mother, Roberta, who lives in California and another sister, Jessica, and numerous extended family members.
He was buried May 24 in Santa Rosa, Calif., where he lived as a child.
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. " It had to be a bittersweet moment for Cole Rohrbough. Well, actually it was mostly sweet.
Rohrbough, a left-handed pitcher, has reached an agreement with the Atlanta Braves. The Braves kept the rights to Rohrbough after they took him in last year's Major League draft and wasted no time in making a deal with him.
Rohrbough said he was going to fly back to Atlanta either Wednesday night or today, where he will meet with Braves general manager John Shurholz.
Rohrbough should sign with the Braves in the next couple of days and then will likely be assigned to either a rookie league or short-season Class A team.
And Rohrbough got what he wanted. He'll receive a signing bonus of $675,000 or about what a second round draft choice would be given.
The Braves are now able to sign Rohrbough since the Western Nevada Community College baseball team's season came to an end on Wednesday in an 11-1 loss to New Mexico Junior College in the JUCO World Series.
"I'm very satisfied," said Rohrbough about the deal he's going to sign. "It's every little boy's dream to grow up and sign a pro contract.
"Especially where I was two years ago. I didn't think I'd have a chance to go pro. I'm just really thankful."
WNCC coach D.J. Whittemore said Rohrbough could have only raised his stock when he shut out Delgado Community College of New Orleans over 7.1 innings and struck out 12 in a 2-0 win.
"His three-hit shutout didn't hurt him any," said Whittemore.
"He's a driven young man. He wants to pitch in the Big Leagues. My money's on him accomplishing that."
As far as WNCC's other pitchers, Whittemore said Justin Garcia, Stephen Sauer and T.J. Wohlever all could be drafted. But Garcia and Sauer may not be drafted because they're not that "signable." Garcia and Sauer have both signed with Division I schools, Garcia with UNLV, and Sauer with Arizona State, teams may not be able to draft them high enough to offer them a large enough signing bonus to pass up their four-year schools.
"Justin and Sauer are both in the same spot," Whittemore said. "Teams weigh how much it's going to cost to sign them. They may not be drafted at all."
Whittemore said if Garcia and Sauer hadn't signed with Division I schools, "they'd be locks to be drafted." And Whittemore did say Garcia and Sauer still have a good chance to be drafted.
Wohlever hasn't signed with a Division I school and that actually increases his "signability." Wohlever has a fastball in the 86-90 mile-per-hour range. He also did a relatively good job in keeping San Jacinto College of Texas in check in a 12-5 loss on Tuesday.
"He overmatched a few of their hitters," said Whittemore about Wohlever. That's impressive considering how much of an offensive power San Jac has been in the World Series.
