thedrifter
04-23-07, 06:24 AM
Marine comes home
April 23, 2007
By Jane Huh Post-Tribune staff writer
Bob Yamtich let the tears stream down but tried to muffle his sobs while he waited Sunday at the Gary/Chicago International Airport to catch a glimpse of his friend who returned home.
He stood solemnly at the side while six Marines carried the U.S. flag-draped casket into the hearse before it drove off the Gary Jet Center's tarmac.
"He helped me know what it means to be a brother," said the 26-year-old who attended Munster High School with 1st. Lt. Shaun Blue, who served in the Marine Corps.
Sunday ushered in the poignant homecoming for Blue, 25, who was killed on April 16 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
In high school, Yamtich and Blue ran cross country and track and were on the wrestling team. And even after some wrestling practices in the winter "we'd go for an extra run in Munster and Highland."
Yamtich said he'll miss the friend whom he "deeply" trusted.
"I love him," he said.
Family, friends, acquaintances and strangers lined up to view the procession which began from the airport to his hometown in Munster for Blue's private funeral for the family.
Retired East Chicago police officer Jim Czerwinski came out to the airport. He said he came to know Blue mainly through Blue's father who would stop by the tavern he owns in East Chicago .
Czerwinski said the father gave him regular updates about Blue, "what he's doing, where he's at ..."
Then about three months ago, his father stopped by the tavern bringing along Blue, said Czerwinski, who also served in the Marines.
"From one Marine to another, it's like we're brothers," Czerwinski, 63, said.
Longtime neighbor Diana Rangel also showed up.
"We lost a good kid," said Rangel, 46, who remembered Blue building a high school homecoming parade float for his high school cross-country team in front of his house.
"This is what he wanted," Rangel said. "To be a part of the Marines, to serve his country."
Busy streets and intersections in Munster came to a halt during the noontime Sunday while hundreds lined up to pay tribute to a fallen hero they call their own.
The procession paused for a minute in front of his home where neighbors lined Elliot Drive.
Meanwhile Richard Jones, Blue's Boy Scoutmaster was waiting along Calumet Avenue, across from the Burns-Kish Funeral Home, the procession's last stop. Jones, 57, said Blue, who studied philosophy at the University of Southern California, was one of the most driven people he's met and one that, even in his youth, chose to take the hard way "as a personal challenge."
Fellow veteran Willis Miller, 91, joined hundreds of others along Calumet Avenue.
Miller served in World War II. The longtime Munster resident said his family was involved with the local Boys Scout troop.
"It's sad," Miller said. "He was a nice guy."
Jones said if he had to draw a representation of the "best of American youth fighting in the war," Blue would fit the description "not just because of his athleticism and intellect but for his heart and soul, ethics and values."
"The best of the best ... but he's always been like that."
Public viewing will be from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday at the Burns-Kish Funeral Home, 8415 Calumet Ave. in Munster.
Contact Jane Huh at 648-3076 or jhuh@post-trib.com
Ellie
April 23, 2007
By Jane Huh Post-Tribune staff writer
Bob Yamtich let the tears stream down but tried to muffle his sobs while he waited Sunday at the Gary/Chicago International Airport to catch a glimpse of his friend who returned home.
He stood solemnly at the side while six Marines carried the U.S. flag-draped casket into the hearse before it drove off the Gary Jet Center's tarmac.
"He helped me know what it means to be a brother," said the 26-year-old who attended Munster High School with 1st. Lt. Shaun Blue, who served in the Marine Corps.
Sunday ushered in the poignant homecoming for Blue, 25, who was killed on April 16 while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq.
In high school, Yamtich and Blue ran cross country and track and were on the wrestling team. And even after some wrestling practices in the winter "we'd go for an extra run in Munster and Highland."
Yamtich said he'll miss the friend whom he "deeply" trusted.
"I love him," he said.
Family, friends, acquaintances and strangers lined up to view the procession which began from the airport to his hometown in Munster for Blue's private funeral for the family.
Retired East Chicago police officer Jim Czerwinski came out to the airport. He said he came to know Blue mainly through Blue's father who would stop by the tavern he owns in East Chicago .
Czerwinski said the father gave him regular updates about Blue, "what he's doing, where he's at ..."
Then about three months ago, his father stopped by the tavern bringing along Blue, said Czerwinski, who also served in the Marines.
"From one Marine to another, it's like we're brothers," Czerwinski, 63, said.
Longtime neighbor Diana Rangel also showed up.
"We lost a good kid," said Rangel, 46, who remembered Blue building a high school homecoming parade float for his high school cross-country team in front of his house.
"This is what he wanted," Rangel said. "To be a part of the Marines, to serve his country."
Busy streets and intersections in Munster came to a halt during the noontime Sunday while hundreds lined up to pay tribute to a fallen hero they call their own.
The procession paused for a minute in front of his home where neighbors lined Elliot Drive.
Meanwhile Richard Jones, Blue's Boy Scoutmaster was waiting along Calumet Avenue, across from the Burns-Kish Funeral Home, the procession's last stop. Jones, 57, said Blue, who studied philosophy at the University of Southern California, was one of the most driven people he's met and one that, even in his youth, chose to take the hard way "as a personal challenge."
Fellow veteran Willis Miller, 91, joined hundreds of others along Calumet Avenue.
Miller served in World War II. The longtime Munster resident said his family was involved with the local Boys Scout troop.
"It's sad," Miller said. "He was a nice guy."
Jones said if he had to draw a representation of the "best of American youth fighting in the war," Blue would fit the description "not just because of his athleticism and intellect but for his heart and soul, ethics and values."
"The best of the best ... but he's always been like that."
Public viewing will be from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday at the Burns-Kish Funeral Home, 8415 Calumet Ave. in Munster.
Contact Jane Huh at 648-3076 or jhuh@post-trib.com
Ellie