thedrifter
01-06-07, 08:08 AM
01/06/2007
Sanford Marine killed in action honored
By Cpl. Michael S. Cifuentes
AL UBAYDI, Iraq -- Memorial services were held Dec. 28 by U.S. Marines and sailors serving in northwestern Al Anbar Province, Iraq, to honor the lives of three fallen Marines, including one from Midland County, one sailor and a civilian interpreter.
Those honored were:
Lance Cpl. Ryan J. Burgess, 21, of Sanford. Flags will be flown at half-staff in Michigan on Monday to honor Burgess.
Lance Cpl. Fernando S. Tamayo, 21, of Fontana, Calif.
Seaman Kyle A. Nolen, 21, of Ennis, Texas.
Lance Cpl. Ryan L. Mayhan, 25, of Hawthorne, Calif.
Fathel Rahman Omar Abdel, known as "Mike."
All were killed Dec. 21 during combat operations in northwestern Anbar Province, several miles away from the Iraq-Syria border.
The service members and interpreter were serving with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, a Twentynine Palms, Calif.,-based battalion. The four service members were four months into a seven-month deployment when they died.
The three Marines and Navy corpsman were represented with Kevlar helmets set atop rifles stuck bayonet-first into sandbags. The fallens' combat boots were placed in front of their memorials; dog tags hung from the rifles. During the ceremony, Marines and sailors lined up and took turns rendering a final salute to the fallens' memorials.
"In a time of war we lost them, but in a coming season of peace their legacy will be evident in a world that is a better and safer place because they passed through it," said Navy Lt. Alan Rogers, the battalion's chaplain, during the ceremony.
Fellow Marines recalled Burgess as a very dependable Marine. His journey in the Corps began alongside Lance Cpl. Shawn Didde, a 21-year-old from Kansas City, Mo., when they graduated from boot camp together at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego. It was just "a short matter of time until a friendship was born," said Didde.
"There was a never a dull moment with him," said Didde. "India Company couldn't have asked for a better machine gunner."
As a vehicle commander, the 21-year-old Burgess was responsible for leading a three-man team of Marines on vehicle patrols. The job he filled is a billet usually given to more senior Marines, usually noncommissioned officers.
"He was well above the average lance corporal," said 1st Sgt. Ryan F. Blue.
Ellie
Sanford Marine killed in action honored
By Cpl. Michael S. Cifuentes
AL UBAYDI, Iraq -- Memorial services were held Dec. 28 by U.S. Marines and sailors serving in northwestern Al Anbar Province, Iraq, to honor the lives of three fallen Marines, including one from Midland County, one sailor and a civilian interpreter.
Those honored were:
Lance Cpl. Ryan J. Burgess, 21, of Sanford. Flags will be flown at half-staff in Michigan on Monday to honor Burgess.
Lance Cpl. Fernando S. Tamayo, 21, of Fontana, Calif.
Seaman Kyle A. Nolen, 21, of Ennis, Texas.
Lance Cpl. Ryan L. Mayhan, 25, of Hawthorne, Calif.
Fathel Rahman Omar Abdel, known as "Mike."
All were killed Dec. 21 during combat operations in northwestern Anbar Province, several miles away from the Iraq-Syria border.
The service members and interpreter were serving with India Company, 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, a Twentynine Palms, Calif.,-based battalion. The four service members were four months into a seven-month deployment when they died.
The three Marines and Navy corpsman were represented with Kevlar helmets set atop rifles stuck bayonet-first into sandbags. The fallens' combat boots were placed in front of their memorials; dog tags hung from the rifles. During the ceremony, Marines and sailors lined up and took turns rendering a final salute to the fallens' memorials.
"In a time of war we lost them, but in a coming season of peace their legacy will be evident in a world that is a better and safer place because they passed through it," said Navy Lt. Alan Rogers, the battalion's chaplain, during the ceremony.
Fellow Marines recalled Burgess as a very dependable Marine. His journey in the Corps began alongside Lance Cpl. Shawn Didde, a 21-year-old from Kansas City, Mo., when they graduated from boot camp together at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego. It was just "a short matter of time until a friendship was born," said Didde.
"There was a never a dull moment with him," said Didde. "India Company couldn't have asked for a better machine gunner."
As a vehicle commander, the 21-year-old Burgess was responsible for leading a three-man team of Marines on vehicle patrols. The job he filled is a billet usually given to more senior Marines, usually noncommissioned officers.
"He was well above the average lance corporal," said 1st Sgt. Ryan F. Blue.
Ellie