thedrifter
06-15-07, 06:19 AM
Westminster Marine dies in motorcycle accident
By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff | June 15, 2007
A 32-year-old Marine from Westminster who led a platoon into battle in Iraq died last week in a traffic accident in California, according to his family.
Mark Barrette, a staff sergeant stationed at Camp Pendleton, was driving his motorcycle in Anaheim when he collided with a Mercedes sedan, his father said.
"We got the call last Friday; it was the call that no parent wants to get," Robert Barrette, 57, said by telephone. "Father's Day is around the corner; then my birthday is next week. Those are usually very happy occasions for me, but now I only have one son left."
After graduating from Oakmont Regional High School in Ashburnham, Barrette joined the Marines and completed two tours of duty in Iceland and a tour in Okinawa, Japan. He arrived at Camp Pendleton in 1999. He was deployed to Iraq from September 2005 to April 2006.
Last Friday, Barrette had just left work and was on his way to join his girlfriend at a local restaurant for dinner when the crash occurred. Robert Barrette said his son had been riding motorcycles since age of 16, when he handed down his old motorcycle to him.
"He loved motorcycles," said his father. Just before the accident, Barrette stopped by a motorcycle shop and snapped a cellphone photo of a bike, his father said.
His body is to arrive at Logan Airport this morning. A funeral is planned for 10 a.m. Monday at St. Edward Church in Westminster.
Ellie
By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff | June 15, 2007
A 32-year-old Marine from Westminster who led a platoon into battle in Iraq died last week in a traffic accident in California, according to his family.
Mark Barrette, a staff sergeant stationed at Camp Pendleton, was driving his motorcycle in Anaheim when he collided with a Mercedes sedan, his father said.
"We got the call last Friday; it was the call that no parent wants to get," Robert Barrette, 57, said by telephone. "Father's Day is around the corner; then my birthday is next week. Those are usually very happy occasions for me, but now I only have one son left."
After graduating from Oakmont Regional High School in Ashburnham, Barrette joined the Marines and completed two tours of duty in Iceland and a tour in Okinawa, Japan. He arrived at Camp Pendleton in 1999. He was deployed to Iraq from September 2005 to April 2006.
Last Friday, Barrette had just left work and was on his way to join his girlfriend at a local restaurant for dinner when the crash occurred. Robert Barrette said his son had been riding motorcycles since age of 16, when he handed down his old motorcycle to him.
"He loved motorcycles," said his father. Just before the accident, Barrette stopped by a motorcycle shop and snapped a cellphone photo of a bike, his father said.
His body is to arrive at Logan Airport this morning. A funeral is planned for 10 a.m. Monday at St. Edward Church in Westminster.
Ellie