thedrifter
04-12-06, 06:55 PM
A silent parade for fallen Marine
Saugus residents bid farewell to Iraq casualty
By Megan Tench, Globe Staff | April 12, 2006
SAUGUS -- Marines on motorcycles rolled down Central Street. Mothers and their children stood on lawns and sidewalks, waving American flags. Residents peered out of their windows, watching the police-escorted motorcade carry the body of Marine Corporal Scott Procopio, 20, from an elementary school to his final resting place.
Saugus stood still, if only for a few hours yesterday, as another Massachusetts family bid farewell to a son who died too young.
''It was eerie," said Peter Rossetti, a Saugus selectman who took time off from work at his insurance company to be among more than 1,000 residents who filled the streets. Selectmen called the funeral the largest ever in the town of 27,000.
The procession was solemn, muffled. Many townspeople seemed too moved to speak.
''I've never been in a silent parade before," Rossetti said afterward.
Procopio, a machine gunner, was the first Saugus native to die in Iraq. He left for his second tour of duty on March 6 and was killed April 2 when the Humvee he was riding in was hit by a roadside bomb in Ramadi.
Schools were closed, and some businesses shut down as the gymnasium at Veterans Memorial Elementary School was transformed for a funeral service. Procopio's flag-draped coffin was slowly wheeled in by Marines to the center of the gym just after 11 a.m.
On the walls, alongside the bleachers, large photographs of Procopio were hung. In one, he is a child playing on a beach. Another captures the day he joined the Marines in 2004, and in another he smiles at his new wife, Kristal, on his wedding day last September.
Governor Mitt Romney attended, as did many dignitaries. Many relatives on hand -- including cousins, uncles, and aunts -- remembered Procopio as a cheeky daredevil who once, at the age of 3, grabbed hold of an automatic garage door as it was being raised and wouldn't let go.
''When it got to the top, he didn't know what to do," said William Brescia, Procopio's cousin. ''Everyone else went into the house, so he just hung there for . . . about five minutes."
Throughout the 90-minute service, mourners, many of them children, sat silently in metal folding chairs. Procopio's father acknowledged the wives of Marines who fought side by side with Procopio, who were also on hand.
''Our hearts are with your husbands," Kevin Procopio said. ''And we will continue to pray for them."
Family members described Scott Procopio as a young man who found hope in God at a very young age and was beloved by all who knew him. He was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart.
America knows him as United States Marine Corporal Scott Procopio, Brescia said. ''But to us, he is just Scottie. Scott. Scott the otter, as his cousins call him. And one pet name that he and Kristal used to share. Only [she] could get away with calling him 'buttercup.' "
The crowd giggled.
Procopio was about 10 when he mastered the unicycle, Brescia recalled. He was full of surprises. One time, when he was older and vacationing in the Bahamas, he felt so sorry for a dog run over by a car that, to the astonishment of locals, he put the dead dog on the back of his bike and gave it a proper burial.
Brescia remembered one Thanksgiving when more than 50 family members came for dinner. One asked Procopio how he and his wife first met.
''He said, 'At AA,' " Brescia said. Those at the table laughed, but it wasn't a joke. Though faced with challenges, Procopio and his wife learned to lean on each other, family members said. They were planning to have children.
Despite the loss, family members repeatedly asked that Procopio's death not be characterized as a ''waste of life." They reminded mourners that the young Marine was a devout Christian. He chose to go to Iraq and then he chose to return. And he believed.
''Scott was ready for death," said Eugene Higgins, a family friend. ''He didn't want to die, but he was ready for death, because he was promised eternal life."
The family expressed gratitude for the town's outpouring of support, especially to those who offered a chuckle or two.
A card sent to the family from a fifth-grader came to mind, Brescia said. ''We are sorry for Scott Procopio," the card said ''P.S. It's OK to let the birds of sadness fly around your head, just don't let them make a mess of your hair."
Moments later, the coffin was wheeled out of the school and returned in the hearse. The crowd followed silently on foot to the cemetery, less than a mile away.
''It is a sad day, but also a very honorable day," said Susan Dunn, a family friend. ''It was so good to see everyone out, and the children got to see something very special. When we walked, you know, we felt okay."
Megan Tench can be reached at mtench@globe.com.
Rest In Peace
Ellie
Saugus residents bid farewell to Iraq casualty
By Megan Tench, Globe Staff | April 12, 2006
SAUGUS -- Marines on motorcycles rolled down Central Street. Mothers and their children stood on lawns and sidewalks, waving American flags. Residents peered out of their windows, watching the police-escorted motorcade carry the body of Marine Corporal Scott Procopio, 20, from an elementary school to his final resting place.
Saugus stood still, if only for a few hours yesterday, as another Massachusetts family bid farewell to a son who died too young.
''It was eerie," said Peter Rossetti, a Saugus selectman who took time off from work at his insurance company to be among more than 1,000 residents who filled the streets. Selectmen called the funeral the largest ever in the town of 27,000.
The procession was solemn, muffled. Many townspeople seemed too moved to speak.
''I've never been in a silent parade before," Rossetti said afterward.
Procopio, a machine gunner, was the first Saugus native to die in Iraq. He left for his second tour of duty on March 6 and was killed April 2 when the Humvee he was riding in was hit by a roadside bomb in Ramadi.
Schools were closed, and some businesses shut down as the gymnasium at Veterans Memorial Elementary School was transformed for a funeral service. Procopio's flag-draped coffin was slowly wheeled in by Marines to the center of the gym just after 11 a.m.
On the walls, alongside the bleachers, large photographs of Procopio were hung. In one, he is a child playing on a beach. Another captures the day he joined the Marines in 2004, and in another he smiles at his new wife, Kristal, on his wedding day last September.
Governor Mitt Romney attended, as did many dignitaries. Many relatives on hand -- including cousins, uncles, and aunts -- remembered Procopio as a cheeky daredevil who once, at the age of 3, grabbed hold of an automatic garage door as it was being raised and wouldn't let go.
''When it got to the top, he didn't know what to do," said William Brescia, Procopio's cousin. ''Everyone else went into the house, so he just hung there for . . . about five minutes."
Throughout the 90-minute service, mourners, many of them children, sat silently in metal folding chairs. Procopio's father acknowledged the wives of Marines who fought side by side with Procopio, who were also on hand.
''Our hearts are with your husbands," Kevin Procopio said. ''And we will continue to pray for them."
Family members described Scott Procopio as a young man who found hope in God at a very young age and was beloved by all who knew him. He was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart.
America knows him as United States Marine Corporal Scott Procopio, Brescia said. ''But to us, he is just Scottie. Scott. Scott the otter, as his cousins call him. And one pet name that he and Kristal used to share. Only [she] could get away with calling him 'buttercup.' "
The crowd giggled.
Procopio was about 10 when he mastered the unicycle, Brescia recalled. He was full of surprises. One time, when he was older and vacationing in the Bahamas, he felt so sorry for a dog run over by a car that, to the astonishment of locals, he put the dead dog on the back of his bike and gave it a proper burial.
Brescia remembered one Thanksgiving when more than 50 family members came for dinner. One asked Procopio how he and his wife first met.
''He said, 'At AA,' " Brescia said. Those at the table laughed, but it wasn't a joke. Though faced with challenges, Procopio and his wife learned to lean on each other, family members said. They were planning to have children.
Despite the loss, family members repeatedly asked that Procopio's death not be characterized as a ''waste of life." They reminded mourners that the young Marine was a devout Christian. He chose to go to Iraq and then he chose to return. And he believed.
''Scott was ready for death," said Eugene Higgins, a family friend. ''He didn't want to die, but he was ready for death, because he was promised eternal life."
The family expressed gratitude for the town's outpouring of support, especially to those who offered a chuckle or two.
A card sent to the family from a fifth-grader came to mind, Brescia said. ''We are sorry for Scott Procopio," the card said ''P.S. It's OK to let the birds of sadness fly around your head, just don't let them make a mess of your hair."
Moments later, the coffin was wheeled out of the school and returned in the hearse. The crowd followed silently on foot to the cemetery, less than a mile away.
''It is a sad day, but also a very honorable day," said Susan Dunn, a family friend. ''It was so good to see everyone out, and the children got to see something very special. When we walked, you know, we felt okay."
Megan Tench can be reached at mtench@globe.com.
Rest In Peace
Ellie