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12-04-05, 06:49 PM
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Byron Marine ‘gave everything he had’
The city plans to lower its flags to half-staff this month in honor of Andrew Patten.
By DUSTIN J. SEIBERT, Rockford Register Star
BYRON — Eddie Engelert recalled one of the last conversations he had with his good friend Andrew Patten before the Marine shipped off to Iraq in July.
“His words were that he was going over there to accomplish the mission, and he wasn’t going to come home until its done,” he said. “I didn’t want him to go, but he went to do his duty, and freedom isn’t free.”
The 19-year-old lance corporal from Byron was among 10 members of the 2nd Marine Division killed Thursday by a roadside bomb in Fallujah. It was the worst attack on U.S. troops in the war since 14 Marines were killed in a similar incident in August.
The attack, which also killed Lance Cpl. Adam W. Kaiser, 19, of Naperville, brought the number of confirmed U.S. deaths in Iraq to 2,127.
Engelert, 20, of Chana met Patten in sixth grade through Maywood Evangelical Free Church in Byron. They hit it off because they were “high-energy kids” who would go fishing, rock-climbing and ride all-terrain vehicles together.
The Northern Illinois University student found out the bad news Friday from his parents.
“I was kind of in shock. I couldn’t believe it for the first hour or so,” he said. “It still doesn’t make sense to me, but we have to trust God and that’s the only thing we can do.”
Jason Engelert, 17, said he became close to Patten through his big brother.
“He knew how to entertain you, and he was fun to be around and always had something to say,” he said.
Larry Seagren, administrative pastor at Maywood Evangelical, served as Patten’s youth pastor when he was in elementary school. He said the church will display his picture and have a moment of silence in his honor during today’s service.
“It’s kind of shock and disbelief at the same time. We were very close throughout the years,” he said.
“He was a dynamic kid who gave everything he had to everything he did. He had a very strong faith in God, and that’s what gave him strength.”
Mayor R. Scot Nason proclaimed that all flags in the city will be flown at half-staff for the remainder of the month.
“Our country is more for Lance Cpl. Patten’s service, and the community of Byron is lessened by his loss,” Nason said in a press release. “We mourn with his family, and will remain eternally grateful for his service.”
Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, who works closely with veterans and military personnel in Illinois, said his staff “will help the family with whatever they need. It’s obviously a traumatic time. Sometimes there are questions and issues that maybe a family might have that they need to tend to, and we try to help in any way possible.”
Patten will be buried at Arlington (Va.) National Cemetery; services, which will be at Maywood, have not been scheduled.
Register Star Springfield Bureau chief Aaron Chambers contributed to this story.
Contact: dseibert@rockford.gannett.com; 815-987-1354
Ellie
Byron Marine ‘gave everything he had’
The city plans to lower its flags to half-staff this month in honor of Andrew Patten.
By DUSTIN J. SEIBERT, Rockford Register Star
BYRON — Eddie Engelert recalled one of the last conversations he had with his good friend Andrew Patten before the Marine shipped off to Iraq in July.
“His words were that he was going over there to accomplish the mission, and he wasn’t going to come home until its done,” he said. “I didn’t want him to go, but he went to do his duty, and freedom isn’t free.”
The 19-year-old lance corporal from Byron was among 10 members of the 2nd Marine Division killed Thursday by a roadside bomb in Fallujah. It was the worst attack on U.S. troops in the war since 14 Marines were killed in a similar incident in August.
The attack, which also killed Lance Cpl. Adam W. Kaiser, 19, of Naperville, brought the number of confirmed U.S. deaths in Iraq to 2,127.
Engelert, 20, of Chana met Patten in sixth grade through Maywood Evangelical Free Church in Byron. They hit it off because they were “high-energy kids” who would go fishing, rock-climbing and ride all-terrain vehicles together.
The Northern Illinois University student found out the bad news Friday from his parents.
“I was kind of in shock. I couldn’t believe it for the first hour or so,” he said. “It still doesn’t make sense to me, but we have to trust God and that’s the only thing we can do.”
Jason Engelert, 17, said he became close to Patten through his big brother.
“He knew how to entertain you, and he was fun to be around and always had something to say,” he said.
Larry Seagren, administrative pastor at Maywood Evangelical, served as Patten’s youth pastor when he was in elementary school. He said the church will display his picture and have a moment of silence in his honor during today’s service.
“It’s kind of shock and disbelief at the same time. We were very close throughout the years,” he said.
“He was a dynamic kid who gave everything he had to everything he did. He had a very strong faith in God, and that’s what gave him strength.”
Mayor R. Scot Nason proclaimed that all flags in the city will be flown at half-staff for the remainder of the month.
“Our country is more for Lance Cpl. Patten’s service, and the community of Byron is lessened by his loss,” Nason said in a press release. “We mourn with his family, and will remain eternally grateful for his service.”
Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn, who works closely with veterans and military personnel in Illinois, said his staff “will help the family with whatever they need. It’s obviously a traumatic time. Sometimes there are questions and issues that maybe a family might have that they need to tend to, and we try to help in any way possible.”
Patten will be buried at Arlington (Va.) National Cemetery; services, which will be at Maywood, have not been scheduled.
Register Star Springfield Bureau chief Aaron Chambers contributed to this story.
Contact: dseibert@rockford.gannett.com; 815-987-1354
Ellie