By M. Scott Carter
OKLAHOMA CITY -- The small boy sat quietly as the tall soldier knelt in front of him.
Wearing stark white gloves, the soldier, Oklahoma Army National Guard Lt. Col. John Harrison, softly placed the folded flag in the child's hands.
"On behalf of a grateful nation ..." Harrison began.
And with those words, Braden Rudolf, the 8-year-old son of Chief Warrant Officer Brady J. Rudolf said good-bye to his father Sunday.
Rudolf, 37, was one of seven soldiers killed Sept. 17 when their Chinook helicopter crashed while en route from Kuwait to Balad Air Base, north of Baghdad.
Rudolf, officials with the Oklahoma Army National Guard said, served as a CH-47 pilot in Detachment 1, Company B, Second Battalion.
The aviation unit was stationed out of Lexington.
Described by his family as a "hero and a great father" the 20-year veteran was honored Sunday during a memorial service at the Southern Hills Baptist Church in Oklahoma City.
"As you go through life, if you're lucky you'll find people with special qualities," said Roger Northcutt, Rudolf's cousin. "Brady was one of those people."
Rudolf, he said, "took the time to care about people. He took the time to make them comfortable," in his work as a pharmacist and in his service as a member of the National Guard.
"If you look at his photograph, you'll see a sparkle in his eyes," he said. "It's actually not a sparkle, but in reality, it's the brightest, and hottest white light that man has created on this earth -- it's the light of freedom."
In a statement distributed to the media, Rudolf's widow, Jennifer, described her husband as a hero.
"He strived to be the best in everything he did," she said. "He had this captivating smile that drew me in the moment I met him, and a natural ability to take care of people. Brady knew at a young age he wanted to be a pilot, and that is what he set out to do. He absolutely loved being a Chinook pilot."
Their life, she said, "was so good and perfect."
"It was the kind that not many people even get to experience," she said. "I'm thankful for the time he had and that our boys will grow up knowing Brady is a hero and lived for God, family and our country. I love you, Brady."
Speaking to a crowd filled with family members, military personnel and friends, the church's pastor, Doug Melton, said Rudolf enjoyed taking care of people. "He was a proud father, a wonderful son, a devoted member of the church and a loyal soldier," Melton said. "He was also a loving husband and a man of God."
Echoing Melton, Craig Northcutt -- also a relative of the soldier -- described Rudolf as the type of person who could make others laugh.
"If the world had a lot more people like Brady, it would be a lot better off," he said.
Following Northcutt's eulogy, the 15-man honor guard moved silently toward the center of the church's sanctuary and, with smooth, precise movements, folded a large American flag to present to Rudolf's widow Jennifer and his sons Braden, Ty and Nate.
Silently, the flags and Rudolf's pilot's wings were presented to his family. Then, following a prayer, the service ended.
Rudolf's family was escorted to the church's parking lot where, after a few minutes, four large Chinook helicopters flew through a blue Oklahoma sky.
As the copters neared the church, one veered off, leaving the other three -- the missing man formation.
And there, standing quietly on the asphalt, holding his mother's hand, a small boy looked skyward.
Chief Warrant Officer Brady J. Rudolf was the fifth Oklahoma National Guardsman killed in action since the beginning of the Iraq war. The accident is being investigated.
M. Scott Carter 366-3545 scarter@normantranscript.com
