thedrifter
01-19-06, 08:23 AM
Soldier, Marine From Va. Get Final Salute at Home
Captain and Corporal Killed in Iraq Are Buried at Arlington
By Lila de Tantillo
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 18, 2006; B01
A dreary gray sky set the scene as two Virginians who were killed in Iraq were laid to rest yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery.
Army Capt. Christopher P. Petty, 33, of Vienna and Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle W. Brown, 22, of Newport News were the 214th and 215th people killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom to be buried at Arlington.
The morning drizzle let up just as the horse-drawn caisson bearing Petty's coffin approached the grave site. About 100 mourners followed the full-honors procession, which included a band and an escort that accompanied the coffin on foot from the Old Post Chapel at Fort Myer.
Petty was among five soldiers killed Jan. 5 in Najaf when an improvised explosive device detonated near their Humvee.
The band played "America the Beautiful" as the honor guard carefully folded the American flag draping the silver coffin. Brig. Gen. David Anthony Morris presented the flag to Petty's widow, Deborah. The soldier also leaves behind sons Oliver, 3, and Owen, 3 months.
Petty, who was born in Berlin and grew up overseas, graduated from Fairfax County's James Madison High School in 1991 and attended Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va. High school classmate Adam Cox, 32, said his friend was always quick with a warm greeting and a grin.
"There wasn't anyone he didn't get along with," Cox said. "Every time I saw him in class or walking the hallways, he was always smiling."
Cox kept in touch with Petty during the challenging years after graduation as their close group of friends juggled work, school and adulthood. Cox recalled the buddies unwinding with cards and listening to music at parties Petty would host at his home at least once a week.
"Chris's door was always open for me whenever I'd be there," said Cox, who lives in Denver.
Mike Schulz, 24, of Twin Falls, Idaho, served with Petty for three months in Iraq during summer 2003. Schulz, who had just lost a child, said Petty not only comforted him, but was instrumental in helping him come home to his wife then.
Schulz said Petty was generous with the delicious treats his family often sent him. Each time a package of goodies arrived, "he made sure his troops got some of it before he did," Schulz said. "He was always the last person to dig in."
Also killed in the blast with Petty were Maj. William F. Hecker III, 37, of St. Louis; Sgt. 1st Class Stephen J. White, 39, of Talladega, Ala.; Sgt. Johnny J. Peralez Jr., 25, of Kingsville, Tex.; and Pvt. Robbie M. Mariano, 21, of Stockton, Calif. They were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division based at Fort Hood, Tex.
Later yesterday, the rain held off as dozens of mourners gathered under cloudy skies for Brown's funeral.
Brown, who was shot by a sniper in combat Jan. 7 near Fallujah, was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Gaggles of geese glided above the bare trees as an honor guard from the Marine barracks at Eighth and I streets SE in the District carried Brown's flag-draped wooden coffin forward. Gunnery Sgt. Barry L. Baker knelt before Brown's father, Rodney Bridges, and presented the flag to him. As the ceremony concluded, a bagpiper played "Amazing Grace."
"He loved being a Marine more than anything," said aunt Robin Summers, 42. Despite his slender build, he had set his sights on joining the elite branch of the armed forces, she said. Ignoring naysayers, he bulked up and stayed active playing basketball and fishing -- though Brown often joked that he fed more fish than he managed to catch.
As a teenager, Brown, who was known for an endearing goofiness, was determined to overcome his adolescent awkwardness. To that end, he consulted his cousin Tyler Richardson, 19, for advice on dressing to impress women. He attended his first high school dance in a tuxedo -- complete with tails, a top hat and a cane. For another, he wore a gold suit.
"He was proud he had a date for each occasion," Summers said.
During his years at Heritage High School in Newport News, Brown took his participation in the Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps especially seriously, said cousin Tammy Richardson, 21, who graduated with him in 2002. "He made sure his uniform was ironed and straight," she said. "And he made sure he graduated with good enough grades so that he could go into the military."
Brown headed to boot camp straight out of high school and was proud to make the cut. He did two tours in Iraq and stints in Afghanistan, Japan and Korea. His aunt said one of his most rewarding experiences was returning to Heritage High in his dress blues to talk to ROTC students about the military.
He planned to go into law enforcement, she said.
Because of his service in Iraq, he was "a changed man," Summers said. "You could look at him and tell the war had affected him tremendously."
Ellie
Captain and Corporal Killed in Iraq Are Buried at Arlington
By Lila de Tantillo
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 18, 2006; B01
A dreary gray sky set the scene as two Virginians who were killed in Iraq were laid to rest yesterday at Arlington National Cemetery.
Army Capt. Christopher P. Petty, 33, of Vienna and Marine Lance Cpl. Kyle W. Brown, 22, of Newport News were the 214th and 215th people killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom to be buried at Arlington.
The morning drizzle let up just as the horse-drawn caisson bearing Petty's coffin approached the grave site. About 100 mourners followed the full-honors procession, which included a band and an escort that accompanied the coffin on foot from the Old Post Chapel at Fort Myer.
Petty was among five soldiers killed Jan. 5 in Najaf when an improvised explosive device detonated near their Humvee.
The band played "America the Beautiful" as the honor guard carefully folded the American flag draping the silver coffin. Brig. Gen. David Anthony Morris presented the flag to Petty's widow, Deborah. The soldier also leaves behind sons Oliver, 3, and Owen, 3 months.
Petty, who was born in Berlin and grew up overseas, graduated from Fairfax County's James Madison High School in 1991 and attended Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va. High school classmate Adam Cox, 32, said his friend was always quick with a warm greeting and a grin.
"There wasn't anyone he didn't get along with," Cox said. "Every time I saw him in class or walking the hallways, he was always smiling."
Cox kept in touch with Petty during the challenging years after graduation as their close group of friends juggled work, school and adulthood. Cox recalled the buddies unwinding with cards and listening to music at parties Petty would host at his home at least once a week.
"Chris's door was always open for me whenever I'd be there," said Cox, who lives in Denver.
Mike Schulz, 24, of Twin Falls, Idaho, served with Petty for three months in Iraq during summer 2003. Schulz, who had just lost a child, said Petty not only comforted him, but was instrumental in helping him come home to his wife then.
Schulz said Petty was generous with the delicious treats his family often sent him. Each time a package of goodies arrived, "he made sure his troops got some of it before he did," Schulz said. "He was always the last person to dig in."
Also killed in the blast with Petty were Maj. William F. Hecker III, 37, of St. Louis; Sgt. 1st Class Stephen J. White, 39, of Talladega, Ala.; Sgt. Johnny J. Peralez Jr., 25, of Kingsville, Tex.; and Pvt. Robbie M. Mariano, 21, of Stockton, Calif. They were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division based at Fort Hood, Tex.
Later yesterday, the rain held off as dozens of mourners gathered under cloudy skies for Brown's funeral.
Brown, who was shot by a sniper in combat Jan. 7 near Fallujah, was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Gaggles of geese glided above the bare trees as an honor guard from the Marine barracks at Eighth and I streets SE in the District carried Brown's flag-draped wooden coffin forward. Gunnery Sgt. Barry L. Baker knelt before Brown's father, Rodney Bridges, and presented the flag to him. As the ceremony concluded, a bagpiper played "Amazing Grace."
"He loved being a Marine more than anything," said aunt Robin Summers, 42. Despite his slender build, he had set his sights on joining the elite branch of the armed forces, she said. Ignoring naysayers, he bulked up and stayed active playing basketball and fishing -- though Brown often joked that he fed more fish than he managed to catch.
As a teenager, Brown, who was known for an endearing goofiness, was determined to overcome his adolescent awkwardness. To that end, he consulted his cousin Tyler Richardson, 19, for advice on dressing to impress women. He attended his first high school dance in a tuxedo -- complete with tails, a top hat and a cane. For another, he wore a gold suit.
"He was proud he had a date for each occasion," Summers said.
During his years at Heritage High School in Newport News, Brown took his participation in the Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps especially seriously, said cousin Tammy Richardson, 21, who graduated with him in 2002. "He made sure his uniform was ironed and straight," she said. "And he made sure he graduated with good enough grades so that he could go into the military."
Brown headed to boot camp straight out of high school and was proud to make the cut. He did two tours in Iraq and stints in Afghanistan, Japan and Korea. His aunt said one of his most rewarding experiences was returning to Heritage High in his dress blues to talk to ROTC students about the military.
He planned to go into law enforcement, she said.
Because of his service in Iraq, he was "a changed man," Summers said. "You could look at him and tell the war had affected him tremendously."
Ellie