marinefamily5
05-17-05, 07:36 AM
here is a link from the columbus dispatch about Cpl Derga
http://www.dispatch.com/topstory.php?story=dispatch/2005/05/17/20050517-A1-02.html
thedrifter
05-17-05, 07:42 AM
Pickerington community mourns
Family, friends find strength in faith, each other
By CARL BURNETT JR.
The Eagle-Gazette Staff
cburnett@nncogannett.com
PICKERINGTON -Members of the Marine honor guard snapped to attention Monday as the hearse rolled in front of the church.
Two Marines reached into the back, straightening the U.S. flag draped over the coffin. A detachment of Marines carried the body of a fellow soldier to the front of the church.
Photographs of Dustin Derga, carefree, smiling and full of life, rested on a pedestal placed in front of Peace United Methodist Church's doors.
Printed in the middle of the display was a Winston Churchill quote, "We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."
The church's auditorium, with a capacity of 700, was nearly full by 11 a.m. People stood or sat in chairs placed in the back of the church.
They had come to say goodbye to Derga who was killed May 8 during combat operations in Udaydi, Iraq. His division was participating in Operation Matador. The operation, according to military news releases, was designed to clear an area near the Syrian border used as a staging area for foreign fighters.
Derga, 24, is the first casualty from Fairfield County.
His last words to his girlfriend Kristin Earhart arrived Wednesday - three days after Derga died.
"I'm going back out on a mission," Earhart read through tears during the funeral.
"Can't wait until we move to Florida. ... It seems like everything is working out. ... I just wish we could be together."
She was one of several people to share memories of the 1999 Pickerington High School graduate.
Dustin's father, Robert Derga, spoke about his son's passion for the U.S. Marines. He said he hadn't known what the Marine Corps motto - the Few, the Proud, the Marines - really meant.
"I didn't know what it really meant until we went out and talked to him after he completed (the final physical fitness test) at Paris Island," Robert Derga said. "Then, I knew what it meant and what it means now."
Derga said his son wanted to be in the U.S. Army since he was a small child.
"But Dustin got smarter and went with the Marines," his father said, drawing chuckles from those who attended the service.
The Dergas' last Christmas was a wonderful time together, and Robert said he tried to give Dustin everything he thought his son might need in Iraq.
"I gave him a GPS unit so he could find his way home," Robert Derga said. A GPS (Global Positioning Satellite unit) is an electronic tracking system, sometimes installed in vehicles.
And he gave his son a MP3 player so he could listen to his music. Most recently, Robert Derga copied the New Testament onto a MP3 file so Dustin could listen to it.
"I always felt faith was something I didn't give him," Robert Derga said. "But when he was found, his MP3 player had the New Testament in it so I know he was listening when he died."
Marla Derga, Dustin's stepmother, said she was confident Dustin was in heaven. She recounted a story about a sister-in-law who was dying two weeks ago.
One time they thought she died, but she awoke to tell them she had been in a place with clouds and a man wearing a Marines uniform took her hand and led her into the light.
"She has died now, within days of Dustin's death," Marla Derga said. "So I know they are both up there together now."
Pastor Kevin Orr, who officiated the service, closed the funeral with a final prayer. Mourners waited as Marines carried the coffin out of the church.
A hearse leading a two-mile motorcade took Derga's body to Glen Rest Memorial Estates on Main Street in Reynoldsburg.
Mourners traveled along a flag-lined path from their cars to Dustin's final resting spot between two young purple ash trees on the east side of Glen Rest.
Dustin Derga was honored with a 21-gun salute. A lone U.S. Marine Corps bugler in dress uniform played "Taps." Representatives from the veterans organizations flanked the tent-covered gravesite.
Dustin's mother, Stephanie, and his father, Robert, received flags.
And after mourners left, a veteran approached the casket, stood at attention and saluted. He walked away without saying a word.
Originally published May 17, 2005
http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19995
Ellie