The homecoming that wasn't
Soldier looked forward to returning to family, new car

Merrill - The red, white and blue "Welcome home" banner at the front of Merrill High School's gym was poignant and heartbreaking.

While taps is played by a bugler, Wisconsin Army National Guard Staff Sgt. Brian Jopek salutes the casket of his son, Sgt. Ryan Jopek, during graveside services at Merrill Memorial Park Monday. Ryan Jopek, 20, was killed Aug. 2 in Tikrit, Iraq. He was on his last mission.

An honor guard partakes in services for Sgt. Ryan Jopek at Merrill Memorial Park on Monday. Jopek was remembered for his easy smile, friendly nature, his pride in becoming a Mustang owner and his love for his family.

In a couple of weeks Sgt. Ryan Jopek would have come home.

He would have come home with the rest of his Wisconsin National Guard Unit, 2nd Battalion, 127th Infantry, after serving a year in Kuwait and Iraq providing security to convoys.

He would have come home to the sleek new blue Mustang he bought on leave in June.

He would have come home to his parents and his little brother and sister and his friends. He probably would have smiled at the "Welcome home, Jopek!" sign.

Jopek's homecoming drew hundreds of friends, family members, fellow soldiers, Merrill High School basketball team members and residents who came to say goodbye in the same gym where Jopek played hoops. Near Jopek's casket was a table filled with awards and photos of Jopek, as well as the welcome home banner.

Jopek, 20, was killed Aug. 2 by an improvised explosive device in Tikrit, Iraq. He was on his last mission.

He was remembered Monday for his easy smile, friendly nature, his pride in becoming a Mustang owner and his love for his family.

While home on leave in June, Jopek gave his uncle Matt Jopek a ride in his new Mustang. Ryan Jopek drove so fast "he almost gave me a heart attack," said Matt Jopek, who was also Ryan's godfather.

"He said, 'Well, I can only go 30 mph (in Humvees) in Iraq, so I'm going to gun it now.' "

Another uncle, Tim Jopek, recalled his nephew's dazzling smile and how his face lighted up when he learned something new.

"We enjoyed watching him grow into a young man. We enjoyed talking to him, even though sometimes all we'd get in response was 'yep' or 'no,' " Tim Jopek said.

Jopek's teammates on Merrill's basketball squad wore their blue and white jerseys over dress shirts and ties at the memorial service. Though Jopek loved to play basketball, he wasn't known for his quickness or ball-handling ability.

Nathan Woodard recalled trying out for the team with Jopek their sophomore year. On the last day of tryouts, Jopek learned he didn't make the cut and instead was offered the job of manager. Jopek was silent for a long time before telling Woodard that he would be the best team manager he could be.

"That just blew me away to see someone have something taken away from him and then just move on to the next thing," Woodard said.

Before the service started, mourners watched video of Jopek as a little boy, his father holding him in his arms and kissing his cheek. His dad, Brian Jopek, also spent a year in Iraq with a Wisconsin National Guard unit.

Jopek is the second soldier from Merrill to die in Iraq. In May, Army Pfc. Grant Dampier, 25, was killed by a roadside bomb.

Monday morning Jopek was buried not far from Dampier's grave. A crowd gathered around the newest burial site and watched a military honor guard hold tightly in a stiff breeze to the American flag that had draped Jopek's casket.

After three sharp reports of a 21-gun salute, the release of a dozen white doves whose wings flapped almost silently and the last note of taps, all that could be heard was the rustling of leaves in the trees next to Jopek's final resting place.