The following prayer was recited by Colonel Wes Smith, a US Army chaplain, at the "dignified transfer" that took place at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for the remains of Marine Corporal Daniel L. Linnabary II, 23, of North Carolina, who was killed in Afghanistan.
"Gracious God, we are grateful for the young men and women who volunteer to serve our country in uniform, knowing that we are in a long war and fully knowing they may be placed in harm's way. Yet the young heroes still keep coming. Corporal Daniel Linnabary is such a young man. On behalf of a grateful nation, we welcome him home for the final time. We thank you for his service and his sacrifice. We stand here united in grief with his family, his friends, and his fellow Marines. We ask that you would give them strength, comfort, and a peace that is quite beyond themselves in the days ahead.
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We pray for all the men and women in our Armed Services, wherever they may be, at home or abroad. We pray for our nation and its leaders. We pray for those in command. Most of all, we pray for an end to this war.
Now, God, let light perpetually shine upon Daniel. May his soul, and the souls of all the departed — through your eternal mercies — Rest in Peace. Amen."