Hand remembered on two fields

ENTERPRISE – An American soldier laid down his gun and hung up his boots Saturday as family and friends celebrated that young soldier’s life with tears and with laughter.

Those who gathered at Sorrells Funeral Home to remember Spc. Andrew Lee Hand sat perfectly still during the playing of Tim McGraw’s  “If You’re Reading This,” the story of a soldier much like Hand who sacrificed everything for the freedom all Americans enjoy.

“He laid down his life for his country,” Chaplain Sonny Moore said. “I’m grateful that Andrew made his life count.”

Thame Peters knows just how much his long-time friend’s life did count. The two have known each other for nine years and were teammates at Enterprise High School, where they enjoyed a camaraderie that took them off the football field and into adulthood.

Speaking at the service, Peters said Hand was one of the happiest people he knew who gave his all at everything he did – qualities he is sure his friend took from the gridiron to the battlefield.

“I was the quarterback and he was the receiver,” Peters said, “so we spent a lot of time together. After every play, we’d be in the huddle and he would say ‘Thame, I was wide open, man.’ Andrew was not open on every play, but he gave it his all on every play. I bet Andrew was the same way overseas. He would have been the one having fun. Humor defined Andrew. That’s who he was.”

Hand had a positive attitude, Peters said, and even volunteered to return punts because “he got a kick out of it.”

“We became closer and closer not just because his dad was the coach. Everybody liked Andrew. Everybody wanted to be around him. He was almost always in a good mood. Always happy and always trying to make everybody around him happy.”

Hand, who served three tours as part of Operation Enduring Freedom in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan, was killed in an explosion on Saturday, July 24 in Afghanistan. He lost his life with three fellow soldiers.

“By the third tour, he knew what he was in for,” Peters said. “He turned down a desk job in Afghanistan to search for bombs. He was a soldier’s soldier and a man’s man. He was the best father and a great friend. Only two people have given their lives up for others – Christ and the soldier.”

Hand loved to play the guitar and write songs and loved the outdoors, family members said. He was always busy doing something and treasured his friendships.

Long-time assistant football coach and now head coach Kevin Collins said he stands humbled in the presence of an American hero.

“One day in practice he was returning punts. Andrew got lit up and had a concussion. He didn’t learn the fair catch. As a soldier, there was no fair catch, no do-overs, no special make-up. We went from me teaching him how to be safe on the field to him giving his life to protect me and our country.

“I feel insignificant standing in the presence of Andrew Hand.”

Moore told family and friends that God tells us many times in the Bible to “fear not.” Franklin Delano Roosevelt once told Americans “The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself!” Not many of us, the chaplain said, are able to put fear aside.

“Andrew was not afraid of life. As a punt returner, he never made a fair catch. That’s the way he was about life. God doesn’t mean for us to be afraid of life.”

Military officials presented flags to Hand’s wife, Amanda, and one each to his young sons, Tristan and Gavin. Hand’s widow also received the Distinguished Service Medal from the State of Alabama.

A second service is at 11 a.m. Monday at Liberty Church in Birmingham; burial will follow with full military honors at 2 p.m. at Alabama National Cemetery in Montevallo.

“If you’re reading this ...,”  Tim McGraw sang, “I’m in a better place where soldiers live in peace and angels sing Amazing Grace.”