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thedrifter
02-20-07, 11:11 AM
'Not only a hero ... a great son'
Killed in Iraq, Marine copter pilot buried
Andrew Silva, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 02/20/2007 12:00:00 AM PST

RIVERSIDE - He accomplished his mission.

A wounded U.S. Marine had already been dropped off Feb. 7 when the CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter was hit by insurgents and crashed in Iraq, killing all seven aboard.

It's a mark of the spirit of 1st Lt. Jared M. Landaker that he chose to fly helicopters instead of jets.

The 25-year-old Big Bear High School graduate had always dreamed of being a pilot. He was working toward a degree in physics at the University of La Verne when the Sept. 11 attacks spurred him to join the Marines.

In flight school, he graduated near the top of his class, meaning he could have flown any aircraft he wanted.

"What he was doing every day (in Iraq) was waiting for a buzzer to go off to go save a Marine's life. He ended up dying doing that," said longtime friend 1st Lt. Matt Jackson, 27, of Orange, who also flies helicopters, but for the Army.

On Monday, Landaker was buried in a simple, solemn ceremony at Riverside National Cemetery attended by several hundred people.

A lone

Marine with a trumpet played a slow, plaintive version of the Marine Corps Hymn as his coffin was carried between dozens of California Highway Patrol officers, fellow Marines and others who saluted as the pallbearers passed. Landaker's father is a retired CHP officer and former Marine.

His family was presented with Landaker's Purple Heart. Later, Col. Patrick Gough, his commanding officer from Camp Pendleton, handed the meticulously folded flag that draped Landaker's casket to his mother, Laura.

At a reception afterward in downtown Riverside, the assembled friends and family shared seemingly endless stories of the energetic and optimistic young man.

Despite his early desire to fly jets, there was just something about the community of CH-46 pilots that drew him into flying the aging twin-rotor helicopters, those who knew him said.

Those are the pilots who make sure Marines get back from battle.

Although not especially tall, he was known for his big heart, big smile and big talent in whatever he tried.

Medical problems before and after birth convinced doctors he had an 85 percent chance of suffering a mental disability, his father, Joseph Landaker, said.

But he went on to be a high- school quarterback and college outfielder, earning a degree in physics and becoming a skilled, lifesaving pilot.

"He was not only a hero, he was a great son," his father said. "This guy did more in 25 years than most of us will do in 75 years."

He was such a good pilot, he had been nominated to attend the Weapons and Tactics Instructor School, the Marines' version of the U.S. Navy's "Top Gun" school, Col. Gough said.

Such a prestigious honor is unusual for a 1st lieutenant, Gough said.

But it was not a surprise to his close friends, who include the Army pilot, a firefighter and a police officer.

Jay Alvarado, 25, a La Verne police officer, said he and Jared hated each other when they first met in middle school "because we're almost identical."

Then they became inseparable.

"He was the quarterback. I was the running back. We were co-captains of the football and baseball teams," he said. "He was always one of those go-

getters, never satisfied."

But it was never for money or glory.

"It was all to help people. Even going in the military," he said.

"He did have the ability to light up a room when he walked into it," 1st Lt. Jackson said. "He was my friend, brother, comrade and hero."

Landaker had been scheduled to head home this month.

Alvarado had just read an e-mail from Landaker and was calling friends with the great news that "my boy is coming home."

"Ten minutes later, I got a call from my dad," he said. "My heart dropped. I said `No, that's not right.' I just got that e-mail."

Jared would have been best man at his wedding.

"He left his mark in everyone's heart," Alvarado said.

Contact writer Andrew Silva at (909) 386-3889 or via e-mail at andrew.silva@sbsun.com.

Ellie