Memorial service held at Robert E. Lee for alum, Alexander Missildine

TYLER, TX (KLTV) - This morning students and staff gathered in the courtyard of Robert E. Lee High School to honor alum, Specialist Alexander Missildine.

On Oct. 1, Missildine was killed in a northern province of Iraq after an improvised explosive device detonated near his convoy.

Jared Cockrum was a friend of Missildine's and performed "Taps."

Cockrum was a freshman when Missildine was a senior. He says he remembers the "first few months of school, sitting down and having lunch with him. He was very kind, very caring. I was able to have an awesome conversation with him at any point of the day."

A flag was placed on top of a memorial stone in the high school's courtyard in Missildine's honor. The stone bears the names of all Robert E. Lee graduates who have died in the line of service.

More than 100 students and staff attended the ceremony. Some of Missildine's family members also attended.

Wednesday, Congressman Louie Gohmert publicly said, "I was just at the funeral of one of my constituents (Missildine) who was killed by an IED in Iraq, and we know most of those are made in Iran. You can't help but wonder, is some of the money that President Obama sent back overseas being used to kill my constituents?" Gohmert continued to say Missildine was "a great young man".

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