In Honor of Trane McCloud

… God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God will help her right early. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has wrought desolations in the earth.  He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear, he burns the chariots with fire! “Be still, and know that I am God. I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth!” The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Psalm 46…

This website is dedicated to the memory of Lt. Col. Joseph Trane McCloud, a member of the Second Battalion, Third Marines, who died in a helicopter accident in Haditha, Iraq on December 4, 2006.  Trane, the son of Military Moms Prayer Group member Roma Anderson, was a Marine’s marine, who had served his country from the Philippines to Somalia to the Persian Gulf, where he had served in Desert Storm.  He left behind his wife, Maggie, and three young children: a son Hayden, 7, and daughters Grace, 5, and Meghan, 3.

Following Trane’s full military funeral at Arlington National Cemetery, an eagle soared over his flag-draped coffin, just as the sun burst through the clouds.

“I know that if he had a choice, he’d do it again, because he cared so much for his country,” said his mom, Roma.   “And he was committed to his mission.  He told me, ‘The Iraqi people don’t deserve to live in the fear they live in.’”

As for Roma, she says, “This whole experience has tempered me. It’s drawn me into a closer relationship with God, as I strive to take on the image of Christ. Trane’s sacrifice helps me relate to Christ’s sacrifice – for his love for us.  Whenever I’m in a crowd of people, I try to look at them through God’s eyes, through eyes of love.  And I say quietly to myself, my son died for you.”