thedrifter
02-03-06, 06:58 AM
Family says goodbye
Funeral in Chesterfield held for Marine sergeant killed
BY MEREDITH BONNY
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Friday, February 3, 2006
Sgt. Sean H. Miles would have been proud of his son.
Not yet 3 years old, Tyler Regi Miles had already grown into the kind of boy his father had hoped to raise.
When things got tough, he stood strong.
He stayed by the side of his mother, Genevieve, when the men came to their door in Jacksonville, N.C., to let them know his daddy was gone. And yesterday, as his father's casket was wheeled into St. Gabriel Catholic Church in Chesterfield County, the little boy sat in his mother's arms and hugged her when his dad couldn't.
Dressed in a mini-Marine Corps uniform and black patent leather shoes, Tyler didn't cry when he pointed to his father's casket and said, "Daddy."
"I don't think he understands," Genevieve Miles said yesterday. "He kept whispering, 'I love you,' to him. I think he thinks he is sleeping."
Miles, a platoon leader with the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, was killed in action Jan. 24 in the Iraqi town of Karmah, about 50 miles west of Baghdad. He was due to come home in less than two weeks, ending what would have been a seven-month tour of duty.
He died pulling a fellow Marine to safety.
He was 28.
Yesterday, Miles' father, Michael Miles, recalled the last afternoon he spent with his son fishing at a lake.
"He said he was afraid," Miles said. "Being his father, I thought it was a fear of combat. Instead, he said, 'I'm afraid I'll let my men down.'"
Miles joined the Marines in 1996, the same year he graduated from Clover Hill High School. Before he left for Iraq, he promised his fellow Marines that they would all come home.
"No one was lost but him," he said.
Miles' fellow Marines paid tribute to him yesterday, carrying his casket through the church doors to a waiting hearse. Miles will be buried in San Antonio, his wife's hometown.
Chesterfield County firefighters and police officers also paid their respects, raising an enormous flag from a ladder truck and standing at attention as friends and family came and went.
Lt. Nathan Dmochowski, a company executive officer with the 2nd Battalion, spoke highly of the man who volunteered to go to Iraq.
"He put his Marines first," Dmochowski said.
Standing before Miles' family and friends yesterday, the Rev. Pat Apuzzo, a man known for his ability to say just the right thing, struggled for words.
"What can I say?" he said. "Our words are not sufficient."
Miles was one of three siblings. At 175 pounds, he was much smaller than his older brother, Christopher, yet he was still the bodyguard of the family.
He was the kind of guy who would take the stairs when everyone else rode the elevator, the person you would stare at with utter disbelief for running in torrential rain in a T-shirt and shorts.
Michael Miles shared some of these funny stories and others yesterday.
He talked about the time his son kicked in the door because it was easier than finding his keys and the first time Sean's mom and dad saw the tattoo of a skull on his back.
At the end of his eulogy, Michael Miles stopped laughing.
"I am amazed by my son's dedication," he said. "I'm astounded by it."
Like his son, Michael Miles admired strength.
"I told my son that when the stuff starts over there, the real men will come out," Miles said. "That was Marine Sergeant Sean Miles."
Contact staff writer Meredith Bonny at mbonny@timesdispatch.com or (804) 649-6452.
Ellie
Rest In Peace
Funeral in Chesterfield held for Marine sergeant killed
BY MEREDITH BONNY
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Friday, February 3, 2006
Sgt. Sean H. Miles would have been proud of his son.
Not yet 3 years old, Tyler Regi Miles had already grown into the kind of boy his father had hoped to raise.
When things got tough, he stood strong.
He stayed by the side of his mother, Genevieve, when the men came to their door in Jacksonville, N.C., to let them know his daddy was gone. And yesterday, as his father's casket was wheeled into St. Gabriel Catholic Church in Chesterfield County, the little boy sat in his mother's arms and hugged her when his dad couldn't.
Dressed in a mini-Marine Corps uniform and black patent leather shoes, Tyler didn't cry when he pointed to his father's casket and said, "Daddy."
"I don't think he understands," Genevieve Miles said yesterday. "He kept whispering, 'I love you,' to him. I think he thinks he is sleeping."
Miles, a platoon leader with the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, was killed in action Jan. 24 in the Iraqi town of Karmah, about 50 miles west of Baghdad. He was due to come home in less than two weeks, ending what would have been a seven-month tour of duty.
He died pulling a fellow Marine to safety.
He was 28.
Yesterday, Miles' father, Michael Miles, recalled the last afternoon he spent with his son fishing at a lake.
"He said he was afraid," Miles said. "Being his father, I thought it was a fear of combat. Instead, he said, 'I'm afraid I'll let my men down.'"
Miles joined the Marines in 1996, the same year he graduated from Clover Hill High School. Before he left for Iraq, he promised his fellow Marines that they would all come home.
"No one was lost but him," he said.
Miles' fellow Marines paid tribute to him yesterday, carrying his casket through the church doors to a waiting hearse. Miles will be buried in San Antonio, his wife's hometown.
Chesterfield County firefighters and police officers also paid their respects, raising an enormous flag from a ladder truck and standing at attention as friends and family came and went.
Lt. Nathan Dmochowski, a company executive officer with the 2nd Battalion, spoke highly of the man who volunteered to go to Iraq.
"He put his Marines first," Dmochowski said.
Standing before Miles' family and friends yesterday, the Rev. Pat Apuzzo, a man known for his ability to say just the right thing, struggled for words.
"What can I say?" he said. "Our words are not sufficient."
Miles was one of three siblings. At 175 pounds, he was much smaller than his older brother, Christopher, yet he was still the bodyguard of the family.
He was the kind of guy who would take the stairs when everyone else rode the elevator, the person you would stare at with utter disbelief for running in torrential rain in a T-shirt and shorts.
Michael Miles shared some of these funny stories and others yesterday.
He talked about the time his son kicked in the door because it was easier than finding his keys and the first time Sean's mom and dad saw the tattoo of a skull on his back.
At the end of his eulogy, Michael Miles stopped laughing.
"I am amazed by my son's dedication," he said. "I'm astounded by it."
Like his son, Michael Miles admired strength.
"I told my son that when the stuff starts over there, the real men will come out," Miles said. "That was Marine Sergeant Sean Miles."
Contact staff writer Meredith Bonny at mbonny@timesdispatch.com or (804) 649-6452.
Ellie
Rest In Peace