Fallen Lebanon soldier laid to rest

LEBANON, Ohio - Family, friends and residents of Warren County said their final goodbyes to Sgt. First Class Bobby Estle Tuesday afternoon.

Estle, a Lebanon native, was shot and killed in Afghanistan in July.

The funeral service for Estle took place at the Cornerstone Church of God. He was laid to rest at Deerfield Cemetery in South Lebanon.

The 38-year-old Estle was a husband and father of three.

He spent 19 years in the Army. He worked with an engineering division serving two tours in Iraq and two tours in Afghanistan. His family was looking forward to his return home on leave in just a few days.

"I can't even think what his family is going through and we are just beyond appreciative," said Leigh Baldwin of Lebanon.

"He was a true inspiration, soldiers followed him because they wanted to follow him, not because they had to. He had an amazing gift for leading soldiers, especially in combat. He always kept his head about him, and he was just a great leader," said Commander Andrejs Kukainis of the 630th Engineer Company.

The controversial Westboro Baptist Church had announced that it would stage a picket at the funeral but members didn't show.

The Patriot Guard Riders, now a common sight at military funerals, evolved from a group of veterans who sought to shield a military families from the protests of Westboro Baptist. The Topeka, Kan. church has chosen to take its anti-gay protests to military funerals across the nation.

Mike Hamilton, assistant state captain of the Ohio Patriot Guard Riders, told 9News that Westboro's announcements are merely aimed at grabbing attention.  When the church applies for a permit from a municipality to stage a protest that's a clearer signal that members are coming.

"What it does is it manages to inflame the community and upset the family and it brings other people (counter-protesters) out here for the wrong reason," said Hamilton.