thedrifter
07-26-06, 08:37 AM
Fitchburg mourns Marine killed in Iraq
Man described as resolved, funny
By Yuxing Zheng, Globe Correspondent | July 26, 2006
FITCHBURG -- More than 300 people attended a wake yesterday at Fitchburg High School for a native son, Marine Lance Corporal Geofrey Robert Cayer , 20 , who died July 18 while on duty in Iraq.
The line of mourners snaked out of the auditorium and spilled past the doors of the school, where Cayer graduated in 2004 and where his mother, Joan, teaches business technology.
Cayer had no reservations about going to Iraq, said Christopher LeBlanc , 37 , a longtime friend who spoke on behalf of the family.
``Geof knew he was a Marine and was part of something bigger than him," LeBlanc said. ``He was steadfast in his resolve: `I know where I'm going to go. I can handle it.' "
The circumstances of Cayer's death remained unclear yesterday. According to a casualty report released to the family, Cayer died of a gunshot wound in a non hostile event, LeBlanc said. The Department of Defense and the Marines said Cayer died in Anbar Province , but have not released an official cause of death.
``It's under investigation," Jonathan Santiago , a Marine Corp s corporal in Camp Pendleton, Calif., said yesterday.
LeBlanc said Cayer had a great sense of humor.
``He was an observer, and at exactly the right moment, something would be said or done that would cut the silence," LeBlanc said. ``He was a very funny kid."
Cayer wrote home often, and in a letter dated Feb. 18, he urged his brother Alex , 18 , to consider the Marines.
``Tell Alex I said he needs to go to college, graduate, then join the Marines as an officer," he wrote.
Friend Joseph Golden , 19 , said Cayer was usually quiet and reserved in high school, but ``if you were one of his friends, he'd talk all the time."
Cayer played on the high school football team for four years as a defensive and offensive lineman, and he also played tennis, said Golden, a specialist in the National Guard.
Cayer, a radio operator, was assigned to the Third Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment, First Marine Division, First Marine Expeditionary Force in Camp Pendleton, according to the Department of Defense.
In addition to his mother and brother , he leaves his father, Robert; another brother, Charles , 22; and a sister, Abigail, 15 .
A funeral Mass will be said at 11 a.m. today in St. Joseph Church in Fitchburg. He will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Aug. 2.
Ellie
Man described as resolved, funny
By Yuxing Zheng, Globe Correspondent | July 26, 2006
FITCHBURG -- More than 300 people attended a wake yesterday at Fitchburg High School for a native son, Marine Lance Corporal Geofrey Robert Cayer , 20 , who died July 18 while on duty in Iraq.
The line of mourners snaked out of the auditorium and spilled past the doors of the school, where Cayer graduated in 2004 and where his mother, Joan, teaches business technology.
Cayer had no reservations about going to Iraq, said Christopher LeBlanc , 37 , a longtime friend who spoke on behalf of the family.
``Geof knew he was a Marine and was part of something bigger than him," LeBlanc said. ``He was steadfast in his resolve: `I know where I'm going to go. I can handle it.' "
The circumstances of Cayer's death remained unclear yesterday. According to a casualty report released to the family, Cayer died of a gunshot wound in a non hostile event, LeBlanc said. The Department of Defense and the Marines said Cayer died in Anbar Province , but have not released an official cause of death.
``It's under investigation," Jonathan Santiago , a Marine Corp s corporal in Camp Pendleton, Calif., said yesterday.
LeBlanc said Cayer had a great sense of humor.
``He was an observer, and at exactly the right moment, something would be said or done that would cut the silence," LeBlanc said. ``He was a very funny kid."
Cayer wrote home often, and in a letter dated Feb. 18, he urged his brother Alex , 18 , to consider the Marines.
``Tell Alex I said he needs to go to college, graduate, then join the Marines as an officer," he wrote.
Friend Joseph Golden , 19 , said Cayer was usually quiet and reserved in high school, but ``if you were one of his friends, he'd talk all the time."
Cayer played on the high school football team for four years as a defensive and offensive lineman, and he also played tennis, said Golden, a specialist in the National Guard.
Cayer, a radio operator, was assigned to the Third Battalion, Fifth Marine Regiment, First Marine Division, First Marine Expeditionary Force in Camp Pendleton, according to the Department of Defense.
In addition to his mother and brother , he leaves his father, Robert; another brother, Charles , 22; and a sister, Abigail, 15 .
A funeral Mass will be said at 11 a.m. today in St. Joseph Church in Fitchburg. He will be buried in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Aug. 2.
Ellie