Hinchman funeral service both moving and memorable

I just returned from the Sonny Hinchman funeral.

For those who were unable to attend, it was very moving.

Family and friends were gathered from near and far to celebrate the life of CW5 Ret. U.S. Army William F. "Sonny" Hinchman -- who was killed in a helicopter crash near Baghdad, Iraq on July 17.

I never knew Sonny but I was able to recently interview his brother Kirk Hinchman.

The first thing I told Kirk upon meeting him for that recent interview was, "Sorry for your loss."

He sincerely replied, "Our loss."

And now I know why he said that.

Sonny was a patriotic man loved by many. He was kind, caring and compassionate. An inspiration.

I know this not only because of the interview with Kirk but also because I just returned from Sonny's funeral.

Now, I'm pressed for time because I have to write two stories about the funeral as well as this viewpoint.

My initial interview with Kirk was quite lengthy and he completely opened his heart up about his youngest brother, Sonny.

I had so many good quotes from the interview but I was unable to use them all for last week's story.

But, I'd like to share one more here.

The last time Sonny left for Iraq was extremely hard on the family.

Kirk explained, "He always came home. We always expected him to come home. Just not like this."

Amazingly enough during Hinchman's funeral on Monday one of the pastors used my story as a reference.

The pastor quoted the same words that Kirk shared with me and that I shared with you in last week's story.

He read the following:

"The soul of Sonny was 'Is this the right thing to do'. Sonny always did the right thing."

Sonny was also very close to his family and would make unannounced appearances to graduations and other family functions.

"He never showed up to teach us something. He showed up to learn from you. But, you always ended up learning from him."

The conversations were always about you and your family.

"That was typical Sonny. Caring and compassionate."

Sonny called his mom, Nina Hinchman of Worthington, every week.

"He knew it's not about receiving. It's not about glories. It's about doing the right thing. It's about helping people...He made everyone special -- which made him special."

And for me I salute the Hinchman family for sharing such a fine man with the world.

Sonny you will always be an inspiration.