thedrifter
01-15-06, 07:21 AM
Hundreds Mourn Man Believed Killed in Iraq
By JAMES MacPHERSON, Associated Press Writer
Sat Jan 14, 11:34 PM ET
Surrounded by pictures of Ronald Schulz as a son, a student and a Marine, family members and friends filled a church Saturday to remember the 40-year-old contractor believed to have been killed by a militant group in Iraq.
Paul Sandstrom, who spoke on the family's behalf, said he feels anger and frustration, but added that the family wants people to think of Ronald Schulz and "replace that hole in your heart with a fond memory."
The Islamic Army in Iraq claimed last month that it had killed Schulz, who was working as an industrial electrician in Iraq. U.S. officials have not confirmed his death but his sister, Julie, said earlier that the family identified him in two videos from insurgents, including one showing a blindfolded, kneeling man shot in the back of the head. The video included Schulz's identification card.
Gov. John Hoeven and Rep. Earl Pomeroy (news, bio, voting record), D-N.D., were among more than 200 mourners who attended Saturday's service. "I can't imagine a worse ordeal for a family," Pomeroy said.
Schulz's family said he was captured in Iraq on or about Nov. 25. They said he had worked earlier in Iraq for more than a year and met his fiancee, Susan Bushra, an interpreter for the U.S. military, in Iraq. The two had planned to return to his home near Anchorage, Alaska.
The family placed dozens of photographs and other mementos such as Schulz's high school FFA jacket and Marine Corps awards at the entrance to the church on Saturday. He served in the Marines from 1984 to 1991.
Ellie
By JAMES MacPHERSON, Associated Press Writer
Sat Jan 14, 11:34 PM ET
Surrounded by pictures of Ronald Schulz as a son, a student and a Marine, family members and friends filled a church Saturday to remember the 40-year-old contractor believed to have been killed by a militant group in Iraq.
Paul Sandstrom, who spoke on the family's behalf, said he feels anger and frustration, but added that the family wants people to think of Ronald Schulz and "replace that hole in your heart with a fond memory."
The Islamic Army in Iraq claimed last month that it had killed Schulz, who was working as an industrial electrician in Iraq. U.S. officials have not confirmed his death but his sister, Julie, said earlier that the family identified him in two videos from insurgents, including one showing a blindfolded, kneeling man shot in the back of the head. The video included Schulz's identification card.
Gov. John Hoeven and Rep. Earl Pomeroy (news, bio, voting record), D-N.D., were among more than 200 mourners who attended Saturday's service. "I can't imagine a worse ordeal for a family," Pomeroy said.
Schulz's family said he was captured in Iraq on or about Nov. 25. They said he had worked earlier in Iraq for more than a year and met his fiancee, Susan Bushra, an interpreter for the U.S. military, in Iraq. The two had planned to return to his home near Anchorage, Alaska.
The family placed dozens of photographs and other mementos such as Schulz's high school FFA jacket and Marine Corps awards at the entrance to the church on Saturday. He served in the Marines from 1984 to 1991.
Ellie