KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A celebration of life was held for U.S. Army Specialist Jeremy Evans on Sunday.
Evans was one of two soldiers killed on Oct. 2 when an army vehicle flipped at a training area in Alaska. He was honored with a police motorcade as people from around the Knoxville community came to pay their respects.
Not only was Evans a United States Army Specialist, he was a brother, a son, a husband and a friend.
"One of Jeremy's soldier buddies described him as the friend that no one else deserved," Justin Pratt, senior pastor of Clear Springs Baptist Church, said.
Evans's mother stood by his flag-draped coffin throughout the viewing part of the service as the rest of his family and friends gathered to celebrate the life he lived.
During the service, both Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs and Representative Tim Burchett made speeches about Evans's sacrifice for his country.
"He was a patriotic young man who wanted to serve his country," Burchett said. "He volunteered for that, he wasn't drafted. There was something down deep in him that said he wanted to serve this great nation."