Remembering a fallen soldier

Army specialist killed in Afghanistan will be buried in Bushnell Monday

FROM STAFF REPORTS

Residents from Tampa to Chiefland lined the streets this week to pay tribute to Army Specialist Clarence Williams III.

Clarence Williams III

Williams, 23, was killed along with five others on July 8 when their armored vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan.

His body was escorted in a procession on Wednesday morning from MacDill Air Force Base to Chiefland in Levy County. Williams and his five comrades were returned to American soil on July 12 at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. His body was flown to MacDill on Wednesday morning and then transported by hearse to Carnegie Funeral Home in Chiefland.

Tampa residents lined Bayshore Boulevard on Wednesday as his body passed by and a similar scene occurred in Chiefland to honor the fallen soldier.

Staff Sgt. Ricardo Seija, 31, of Tampa was killed in that same attack. His body also was escorted home for the final time on Tuesday morning.

Service on Saturday
Williams attended Hernando High School and joined the Army in 2009. He was due to return home at the end of this month. He is survived by his father, Clarence Williams Jr, his mother Talisa Williams and two sisters.

He and Seija were assigned to the 978th Military Police Company, 93rd Military Police Battalion in Fort Bliss, Texas.

A memorial service for Williams was held in Brooksville on Monday and another was scheduled for July 21 at Living Waters Worship Center in Ocala. He will be laid to rest in Bushnell on Monday.

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