WOOD COUNTY, W.Va. — A West Virginia soldier will be remembered during a Friday funeral service at Parkersburg South Baptist Church in Wood County.
The body of West Virginia Army National Guard Sgt. William “Billy” Friese, 30, of Rockport, returned to the Mountain State via the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport on Tuesday morning.
A large number of family and friends were on hand along with Guard members, including Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, West Virginia’s Adjutant General, who talked with MetroNews later in the day.
“It worries me that not enough people out there understand the sacrifices that are being made by less than half a percent of the population in the United States who serve in military uniform and the families that make those same sacrifices on a regular basis,” Maj. Gen. Hoyer said.
Friese died at Camp Buehring in Kuwait on July 18 while serving with the 821st Engineer Company, 1092nd Engineer Battalion, 111th Engineer Brigade.
His death came out of a “non-combat related incident,” according to the Pentagon.
No other information was available on Tuesday as the investigation continued.
Friese was a light-wheeled vehicle mechanic.
“Billy had been in the West Virginia National Guard since 2008. He (previously) deployed to Afghanistan and was now on another deployment,” Hoyer said.
On Tuesday, a procession accompanied Friese’s flag-draped casket from the airport to Sunset Memory Gardens in Parkersburg.
It was not the way Maj. Gen. Hoyer said he ever wanted to see West Virginia’s soldiers return home.
“It absolutely is not and, as a guy who’s got two kids in this business, it hits you in that respect too,” he said.
“This is one more Gold Star family in West Virginia that we’ve got to serve and take care of over time. It doesn’t just end with the funeral service.”
Friese, a 2007 graduate of Parkersburg South High School, was described this way in his obituary:
“Billy grew up in Rockport, on an old gravel road, hunting, catching crawdads, playing/fighting with his siblings and drinking grandma’s sweet tea. He was country and a little bit hillbilly, and proud of it. He loved his family and friends and served his country proudly. He had the biggest heart and saw the best in everybody. Billy was incredibly generous (sometimes too generous), and never met a stranger. He lived life out loud, in the moment, and good or bad, always meant the best.”
Friese was married and had two children.
Visitation times were planned in Parkersburg on Thursday ahead of Friday’s funeral service.