26-05-2025
Concord mother finds solace in sharing the story of her son who died in Iraq
CONCORD, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A Concord mother who lost her son to the war in Iraq almost 15 years ago has turned her grieving into purpose by sharing her soldier's story, and another one, from her past.
The sound of Taps can only mean one thing.
The song is buried in years of pain for Susan McClamrock.
'I didn't realize I had carried it all of that time. I just knew I heard it, and I was like I've heard this before,' said McClamrock.
She's referring to the song played at her son's funeral.
'He said, 'I think I'm supposed to do this, Mom'. He goes, 'I have prayed about it, and this is where God's leading me,' said McClamrock.
Private First Class James McClamrock was newly married when he enlisted in 2009 and chose to fight for his country.
'There's the sandy-beach-James, out at the beach and then there's the Army-James,' said McClamrock looking through pictures. 'If you could have just known him, he was such a goober, he was so much fun.'
McClamrock has her book of James. It includes pictures and letters he wrote his family during boot camp at Ft. Benning, Georgia.
'When you read them, you can just hear everything that he's thinking about,' said McClamrock.
He's an open book in the letters.
'I fear for my life and the worst thing is to leave Shana a widow,' said PFC McClamrock in the letters.
The book of letters is also a painful prelude.
'He says, 'Enjoy what you all have because what I get ain't nothing! I'll never take things for granted. See y'all soon, 39 more days, Love, James,' he wrote in the letters.
PFC McClamrock was taken from them, killed in action at just 22 years old.
'I feel strongly that once we stop speaking their names, they truly die,' said Susan McClamrock.
After her son's funeral, McClamrock finally remembered where she heard that familiar sound of Taps almost 40 years before.
Her dad, Billy Dean Uhls, was only 15 years old when he went into the Navy.
'He was there at D-Day on the beach,' said McClamrock.
And World War II wasn't the end of his service.
'He ended up being a prisoner of war in Korea,' said McClamrock.
McClamrock's dad was in two wars.
She says he came home, spent years in the hospital, and was never the same.
'My father died when I was 10 because of the effects of war, and now I'm burying a child because of the effects of war,' said McClamrock.
The bugle call isn't comforting to McClamrock, but the orchestrator is.
'Keep praying about everything. Lord knows I am,' wrote PFC McClamrock in his letters home.
Susan McClamrock knows her son is in God's hands.
'I'm like Lord, I know he's sitting right at your feet. I know you see him. Would you just smile at him for me like a mom?' said McClamrock.
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