Missouri National Guard Sergeant Robert Pharris

Missouri National Guard Sergeant Robert Pharris is being laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington today. At the same time, a small group of Guardsmen who he trained have returned home today. At their arrival ceremony today, the four  members of the 135th Military History Detachment made sure to honor Pharris by asking for a moment of silence.

Major Donald Lathan explains his 4-member unit had a connection to Pharris.

“He was our trainer before we left. We trained with him over at Nevada, Camp Clark. He was a wonderful person, great guy, did a lot for as a unit; really helped prepare us to deploy. It was very hard when we found out that he passed… He was a great man, has a great family, and he’s a patriot,” Lathan said.

Pharris was killed on January 5th when insurgents attacked his unit. He was 48 and was from Seymour, Missouri.

The 135th Military History Detachment documented operations in Afghanistan by embedding with soldiers and doing interviews with them afterward. Those recordings will be used by research historians.