JOPLIN, MO. ? An Army sergeant was buried Thursday with full military honors in a quiet Ozarks cemetery, thousands of miles from the Afghanistan mountain where he died in a firefight.

Several hundred civilians and military members filled the Church of Christ to say goodbye to fallen hometown hero Sgt. Philip J. Svitak.

Laura Svitak holds the hand of her son, Ethan, 5, as the flag-draped casket carrying the remains of her husband, Army Sgt. Philip J. Svitak, is carried to the burial spot during his funeral. He was buried Thursday at Ozark Memorial Park Cemetery in Joplin, Mo. Svitak, 31, of Joplin, was among seven U.S. soldiers killed March 4 when two troop-carrying helicopters came under attack outside a hide-out for al-Qaida and Taliban fighters.

Svitak, 31, of Joplin, was among seven U.S. soldiers killed March 4 when two troop-carrying helicopters came under attack outside a hide-out for al-Qaida and Taliban fighters.

Svitak’s casket, covered with a U.S. flag, sat at the front of the church. Behind it was a poster-sized collage of pictures of the soldier and his family in happier times.

Impact of Sept. 11

Svitak’s brother-in-law, Shawn Starmer, recalled watching television coverage of the terror attacks in New York City and Washington.

“As I stood watching TV, I never dreamed that the events of Sept. 11 would touch the lives of my family,” he said.

Svitak was proud to be a part of Operation Anaconda, Starmer said.

“Phil was the best of the best,” he said. “He gave his life for me, for you and for his country.”

After the church service, Svitak was buried in Ozark Memorial Park Cemetery. There, seven Army soldiers in dress uniforms fired off three synchronized rounds for a 21-gun salute. A bugler played the military farewell, “Taps.”

The flag from the casket was folded and presented to Laura Svitak and another to his mother, Roseann Svitak.

At the church, Army Chaplain Michael King described Svitak as a man who loved his God, family and country. Svitak often sang at his hometown church in Clarksville, Tenn., and urged fellow soldiers and friends to have faith, he said.

“As much as he loved his family, he loved his military unit,” King said. “Ours was the only one he truly knew.”

Svitak, whose parents live in neighboring Neosho, Mo., was assigned as an aircraft repairman to the 2nd Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment in Fort Campbell, Ky. He served as the flight engineer on the MH-47, and had also served as a crew chief.

‘Hero’ as dad, husband

His wife, Laura, included a note to her husband in the service program.

“You are not only a hero for your country, but you are a hero as a dad and husband,” she wrote.

She said she was sorry that her husband would not be with her to watch their two sons Ethan, 5, and Nolan, 2 grow up.

Several Joplin-area businesses covered nearly all the funeral and burial expenses, said Bruce Woodard, a funeral director at Mason-Woodard Mortuary and Chapel.

Svitak was born in Lincoln, Neb., and graduated from Fremont High School in Nebraska in 1989. The family later moved to Missouri.

He was in the Civil Air Patrol as a teen-ager and enlisted in the Army while he was still in high school. His first tour with the 160th was from 1989 to 1994.

When he got out, he worked at RPS Inc., a shipping company in Joplin, where he met his wife.

Svitak re-entered the Army in 1998, once again assigned to the 160th. He made the commandant’s list at the Primary Leadership Development Course at Fort Campbell. That made him a “top graduate” in this class, which teaches basic leadership skills. He also was a graduate of Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape.

Svitak has been posthumously honored with four service medals including a Purple Heart.

Before Svitak’s body was returned home for burial, a memorial service was held Monday on base at Fort Campbell.