Haslet Honors Fallen Soldier

A Tarrant County community is showing support for the family of a fallen soldier.

Jim and Beth Funk's street in Haslet was decorated with yellow ribbons and lined with American flags on Wednesday night.

Their son, Army Sgt. Jay Strickland, 23, was killed in Afghanistan on Saturday.

"I can't express how much this means to us and our family, so thank all of you for your prayers and thoughts and everything you've done," Jim Funk told the crowd of people who came out to show their support. "This is unbelievable."

Wednesday night, the family picked up another military son of theirs from the airport and drove past the flag-lined street. Parents and little children all waved flags for the family to see.

"It's a school night, it's a work night, but you can see that this takes priority," Hilarry Ulbrich said. "There is absolutely no thought in that. It's just immediate."

Ulbrich, along with B.J. and Jennifer Cox and other volunteers, used Facebook to round up the Sendera Ranch community to set the flags up.

The flags will stay up to honor the fallen soldier and to let the family know that an army of families supports them.

"All we want is, when they drive through the neighborhood, we want them to see this every time they drive down the street and remember we're all praying, we're supporting, and we're thinking of them," Ulbrech said.

Strickland will have a memorial in North Texas before he's laid to rest in Washington. He is survived by his wife and three children.

Contact Us