thedrifter
05-05-06, 09:46 AM
Carrying Him Home
Hundreds join to mourn fallen Marine, pay tribute to a life lived to the fullest
Michael Simons, the brother of Lance Cpl. Aaron Simons, sings 'He Will Carry Me' during the memorial Thursday in Modesto.
ADRIAN MENDOZA/THE BEE
By MERRILL BALASSONE
BEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: May 5, 2006, 05:32:48 AM PDT
In the span of 10 minutes, the short life of Aaron Simons flashed on screens before hundreds attending his funeral Thursday in the Calvary Temple Worship Center in Modesto.
The series of snapshots began with Simons as a mischievous and creative 4-year-old with a dirt-covered face. Simons quickly transformed from a teenager with waist-long hair to a muscular Marine.
Lance Cpl. Aaron William Simons, 20, died April 24 in al-Qaim, Iraq.
About 300 people watched as Simons' fellow Marines honored him in Iraq with a makeshift memorial. Photos showed them bent over an M-16 rifle with Simons' helmet resting on top. The memorial bore the moniker of his company, "Suicide Charley," along with a eulogy written on a piece of plywood propped up by sandbags:
"For those who fight for it, freedom has a special flavor the protected never know."
Simons' brother Michael came to the front of the church, next to where his brother lay in an open casket wearing his Marine Corps dress blue uniform. He grasped a microphone and brought many to tears as he sang "He Will Carry Me." Michael Simons' emotions overcame him as the music faded away.
Aaron Simons is the 16th person from the Northern San Joaquin Valley to die in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan in the past three years. He was killed after two rockets hit his base after he returned from patrol.
Military officials said Simons was in a secure, protected area and was not wearing his helmet or Kevlar vest when the rockets hit the base.
Simons was with the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 7. It was his second tour of duty in Iraq. His home base was Twentynine Palms in Southern California.
Six Marines and one Navy corpsman also were injured in the attack, Lt. Col. Nick Marano, the battalion commander, said on the battalion's Web site.
Marano wrote that a Marine injured with Simons in the blast had been with Simons when he discovered a sick Iraqi girl in the town of Karabilah. Simons and his fellow Marine promised the family they would get the girl to U.S. doctors.
"This is what your Marines here worry about, in the midst of war, inhumanity and death," Marano wrote. "I will fulfill that promise."
Simons 'watched out for the underdog'
Pastor Chuck Adams of The Carpenter's House church in Modesto, which the Simons family has attended since the church's founding in 1981, said Simons was known as a "mother hen" from a young age.
"He watched out for the underdog, often at great personal expense," Adams said.
Simons put nearly 50,000 miles on his car in just seven months as he drove fellow Marines home from the base to their families on weekends, Adams said.
While serving in Iraq, his requests to his mother, Charlotte, were easier to supply: He asked for a case of SpaghettiOs.
Fellow Marines remembered Simons as a "born leader" and a "good-hearted person."
"We both needed a foundation, a building block for our future to turn us from boys to men," said Lance Cpl. Justin Thompson, 20, about why he and Simons joined the Corps. "We had already been to war, but we weren't even old enough to drink yet."
Thompson, who served with Simons on his first deployment to Iraq, said he and Simons would sometimes get into trouble and find themselves waxing floors together. Simons also would give guitar lessons to anyone who asked.
"He was a hard-core but loving Marine."
Nearly 50 Patriot Guard Riders on motorcycles, along with Modesto police and sheriff's deputies, escorted Simons' casket to Lakewood Memorial Park in Hughson after the service. Ladder trucks from Modesto and Stanislaus Consolidated fire departments raised a U.S. flag high at its entrance.
Simons was awarded the Purple Heart, and the Marine Corps Honor Guard fired off a rifle salute before Simons' casket, covered with seven pairs of white gloves from the riflemen, was lowered into the ground.
Sim Long, the father of Lance Cpl. Bunny Long, and relatives of Lance Cpl. Juana Navarro were among those who came to pay their respects. Long and Navarro were the last two area Marines killed in Iraq.
After Simons' burial, friends sat in Graceada Park to reminisce about Simons, whom they had known since junior high.
Simons spent three years at Davis High School, where he and friends formed garage bands called Bucket of Funk and Innuendo Blü.
When he wasn't playing the guitar (or the piano, keyboard and nearly anything with strings), Simons satisfied his adventurous streak by diving off rocks into the Stanislaus River at Knights Ferry.
Simons also was extremely athletic, doing push-ups while wearing a backpack full of weights and taking friends with him on nighttime runs.
"He would run for hours, to the point you don't count the miles anymore," said Steve Stewart, 21.
While his friends sometimes struggled to keep up, Simons would engage them in discussions on anything from literature to music. Sometimes he would smoke while he ran.
"He could still outrun all of us," Stewart said with a laugh.
Simons graduated from Elliott Alternative Education Center in Modesto in 2003 and joined the Marines soon after.
Jason Christensen, 21, said he accompanied Simons to the Marine Corps recruiting center where they took a practice test and watched promotional videos.
Despite scoring high on his exam, Christensen said, Simons chose to join the infantry when he enlisted rather than choosing a technical field.
It was an abrupt decision to join the Corps, Christensen said.
"Aaron had already conquered music, and he was an adventurous person," said his friend, Carlos Rivas, 22.
Christensen and Stewart got tattoos on their legs reminiscent of a tattoo Simons had. Underneath "Suicide Charley" is the company's signature skull and crossbones with Simons' initials, AWS.
"Aaron was the most protective person, and you always felt like you were safe, no matter where you went with this guy," Stewart said. "He was a great artist, a great musician and a great athlete. Who knows what he would have ended up doing."
Contributions for the remodeling of Modesto Junior College theater seats and an instrument scholarship for MJC music students can be made in memory of Lance Cpl. Aaron Simons at: Modesto Junior College, Attention: MJC Foundation, 435 College Ave., Modesto 95350. Please include "In Memory of LCpl Aaron William Simons" on funds sent to the foundation.
Bee staff writer Merrill Balassone can be reached at 578-2337 or mbalassone@modbee.com.
Ellie
Hundreds join to mourn fallen Marine, pay tribute to a life lived to the fullest
Michael Simons, the brother of Lance Cpl. Aaron Simons, sings 'He Will Carry Me' during the memorial Thursday in Modesto.
ADRIAN MENDOZA/THE BEE
By MERRILL BALASSONE
BEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: May 5, 2006, 05:32:48 AM PDT
In the span of 10 minutes, the short life of Aaron Simons flashed on screens before hundreds attending his funeral Thursday in the Calvary Temple Worship Center in Modesto.
The series of snapshots began with Simons as a mischievous and creative 4-year-old with a dirt-covered face. Simons quickly transformed from a teenager with waist-long hair to a muscular Marine.
Lance Cpl. Aaron William Simons, 20, died April 24 in al-Qaim, Iraq.
About 300 people watched as Simons' fellow Marines honored him in Iraq with a makeshift memorial. Photos showed them bent over an M-16 rifle with Simons' helmet resting on top. The memorial bore the moniker of his company, "Suicide Charley," along with a eulogy written on a piece of plywood propped up by sandbags:
"For those who fight for it, freedom has a special flavor the protected never know."
Simons' brother Michael came to the front of the church, next to where his brother lay in an open casket wearing his Marine Corps dress blue uniform. He grasped a microphone and brought many to tears as he sang "He Will Carry Me." Michael Simons' emotions overcame him as the music faded away.
Aaron Simons is the 16th person from the Northern San Joaquin Valley to die in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan in the past three years. He was killed after two rockets hit his base after he returned from patrol.
Military officials said Simons was in a secure, protected area and was not wearing his helmet or Kevlar vest when the rockets hit the base.
Simons was with the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 7. It was his second tour of duty in Iraq. His home base was Twentynine Palms in Southern California.
Six Marines and one Navy corpsman also were injured in the attack, Lt. Col. Nick Marano, the battalion commander, said on the battalion's Web site.
Marano wrote that a Marine injured with Simons in the blast had been with Simons when he discovered a sick Iraqi girl in the town of Karabilah. Simons and his fellow Marine promised the family they would get the girl to U.S. doctors.
"This is what your Marines here worry about, in the midst of war, inhumanity and death," Marano wrote. "I will fulfill that promise."
Simons 'watched out for the underdog'
Pastor Chuck Adams of The Carpenter's House church in Modesto, which the Simons family has attended since the church's founding in 1981, said Simons was known as a "mother hen" from a young age.
"He watched out for the underdog, often at great personal expense," Adams said.
Simons put nearly 50,000 miles on his car in just seven months as he drove fellow Marines home from the base to their families on weekends, Adams said.
While serving in Iraq, his requests to his mother, Charlotte, were easier to supply: He asked for a case of SpaghettiOs.
Fellow Marines remembered Simons as a "born leader" and a "good-hearted person."
"We both needed a foundation, a building block for our future to turn us from boys to men," said Lance Cpl. Justin Thompson, 20, about why he and Simons joined the Corps. "We had already been to war, but we weren't even old enough to drink yet."
Thompson, who served with Simons on his first deployment to Iraq, said he and Simons would sometimes get into trouble and find themselves waxing floors together. Simons also would give guitar lessons to anyone who asked.
"He was a hard-core but loving Marine."
Nearly 50 Patriot Guard Riders on motorcycles, along with Modesto police and sheriff's deputies, escorted Simons' casket to Lakewood Memorial Park in Hughson after the service. Ladder trucks from Modesto and Stanislaus Consolidated fire departments raised a U.S. flag high at its entrance.
Simons was awarded the Purple Heart, and the Marine Corps Honor Guard fired off a rifle salute before Simons' casket, covered with seven pairs of white gloves from the riflemen, was lowered into the ground.
Sim Long, the father of Lance Cpl. Bunny Long, and relatives of Lance Cpl. Juana Navarro were among those who came to pay their respects. Long and Navarro were the last two area Marines killed in Iraq.
After Simons' burial, friends sat in Graceada Park to reminisce about Simons, whom they had known since junior high.
Simons spent three years at Davis High School, where he and friends formed garage bands called Bucket of Funk and Innuendo Blü.
When he wasn't playing the guitar (or the piano, keyboard and nearly anything with strings), Simons satisfied his adventurous streak by diving off rocks into the Stanislaus River at Knights Ferry.
Simons also was extremely athletic, doing push-ups while wearing a backpack full of weights and taking friends with him on nighttime runs.
"He would run for hours, to the point you don't count the miles anymore," said Steve Stewart, 21.
While his friends sometimes struggled to keep up, Simons would engage them in discussions on anything from literature to music. Sometimes he would smoke while he ran.
"He could still outrun all of us," Stewart said with a laugh.
Simons graduated from Elliott Alternative Education Center in Modesto in 2003 and joined the Marines soon after.
Jason Christensen, 21, said he accompanied Simons to the Marine Corps recruiting center where they took a practice test and watched promotional videos.
Despite scoring high on his exam, Christensen said, Simons chose to join the infantry when he enlisted rather than choosing a technical field.
It was an abrupt decision to join the Corps, Christensen said.
"Aaron had already conquered music, and he was an adventurous person," said his friend, Carlos Rivas, 22.
Christensen and Stewart got tattoos on their legs reminiscent of a tattoo Simons had. Underneath "Suicide Charley" is the company's signature skull and crossbones with Simons' initials, AWS.
"Aaron was the most protective person, and you always felt like you were safe, no matter where you went with this guy," Stewart said. "He was a great artist, a great musician and a great athlete. Who knows what he would have ended up doing."
Contributions for the remodeling of Modesto Junior College theater seats and an instrument scholarship for MJC music students can be made in memory of Lance Cpl. Aaron Simons at: Modesto Junior College, Attention: MJC Foundation, 435 College Ave., Modesto 95350. Please include "In Memory of LCpl Aaron William Simons" on funds sent to the foundation.
Bee staff writer Merrill Balassone can be reached at 578-2337 or mbalassone@modbee.com.
Ellie