thedrifter
09-04-07, 06:55 AM
Friends, family bury Marine in Mount Solon
Crowd recalls beloved friend
By Lauren Fulbright/staff
lfulbright@newsleader.com
BRIDGEWATER — A brigade of Marines formed two proud lines outside the open front door.
Inside, rock music played.
The Marines had come from Lynchburg to honor one of their own.
The walls of the funeral home echoed with the lyrics of Green Day, Tool, and Sublime. Many of the mourners wore T-shirts that celebrated the "Boondock Saints," Marine Pfc. John Palmer Lee Harris' favorite movie.
"That's what he would want," said friend Nicolas Warren about the music. Harris loved music, Warren said.
Harris, 21, died on Aug. 27 in an accident at a Marine base in Barstow, Calif. He was scheduled to depart for Iraq in January.
The chapel of Johnson Funeral Service was overflowing with people Monday. In a note included in the program, Nancy Harris wrote that she knew her son was popular.
"But I never really grasped the scope until now," she wrote. "He spoke to everyone, gave you a hug every time he saw you, always made you laugh."
Harris' casket was draped with an American flag. Briefly, this flag was removed so that friends and family members could write goodbye messages on the casket's pale surface. Then, two Marines carefully settled the flag back into place.
After a brief prayer, a line of Marines marched into the chapel and surrounded the casket. "Left, right; Left, right" a Marine murmured to keep the others in step. The Marines saluted the casket and then lifted it to carry it from the hall.
Harris' body will rest among the rolling green hills of Oak Hill Cemetery in Mount Solon, where seven Marines fired three shots each in his honor. At his graveside, the 23rd Psalm was read and Calvin Hartman offered a prayer for his grandson.
"He meant quite a bit to me," Hartman told the gathered crowd.
After the 21-gun salute, a lone bugle player played taps.
Two Marines carefully folded the American flag. A third Marine then presented it to Nancy Harris.
Thomas Harris laid a single rose on his son's casket.
Friends will remember Harris as having a big personality.
"He had a way with people," said friend Misty Lawrence, who described Harris as charming. Lawrence said that Harris loved her children.
"He could get them to stop crying when I couldn't," she said. "My daughter swore she was going to marry him."
"He was just 'John'," said friend Christy King. "You loved everything about him."
Warren said that he could always be himself around Harris.
"He rubbed off on people," Warren said. "You only had to meet John once, and you would remember him."
Michael Holly said he had been looking forward to seeing Harris when he returned home in November. "We did everything together," he said.
"He was a really good guy," he said. "Even if he didn't know you, he'd give you the shirt off his back."
"I was proud of him," Holly said about Harris' military service.
Ellie
Crowd recalls beloved friend
By Lauren Fulbright/staff
lfulbright@newsleader.com
BRIDGEWATER — A brigade of Marines formed two proud lines outside the open front door.
Inside, rock music played.
The Marines had come from Lynchburg to honor one of their own.
The walls of the funeral home echoed with the lyrics of Green Day, Tool, and Sublime. Many of the mourners wore T-shirts that celebrated the "Boondock Saints," Marine Pfc. John Palmer Lee Harris' favorite movie.
"That's what he would want," said friend Nicolas Warren about the music. Harris loved music, Warren said.
Harris, 21, died on Aug. 27 in an accident at a Marine base in Barstow, Calif. He was scheduled to depart for Iraq in January.
The chapel of Johnson Funeral Service was overflowing with people Monday. In a note included in the program, Nancy Harris wrote that she knew her son was popular.
"But I never really grasped the scope until now," she wrote. "He spoke to everyone, gave you a hug every time he saw you, always made you laugh."
Harris' casket was draped with an American flag. Briefly, this flag was removed so that friends and family members could write goodbye messages on the casket's pale surface. Then, two Marines carefully settled the flag back into place.
After a brief prayer, a line of Marines marched into the chapel and surrounded the casket. "Left, right; Left, right" a Marine murmured to keep the others in step. The Marines saluted the casket and then lifted it to carry it from the hall.
Harris' body will rest among the rolling green hills of Oak Hill Cemetery in Mount Solon, where seven Marines fired three shots each in his honor. At his graveside, the 23rd Psalm was read and Calvin Hartman offered a prayer for his grandson.
"He meant quite a bit to me," Hartman told the gathered crowd.
After the 21-gun salute, a lone bugle player played taps.
Two Marines carefully folded the American flag. A third Marine then presented it to Nancy Harris.
Thomas Harris laid a single rose on his son's casket.
Friends will remember Harris as having a big personality.
"He had a way with people," said friend Misty Lawrence, who described Harris as charming. Lawrence said that Harris loved her children.
"He could get them to stop crying when I couldn't," she said. "My daughter swore she was going to marry him."
"He was just 'John'," said friend Christy King. "You loved everything about him."
Warren said that he could always be himself around Harris.
"He rubbed off on people," Warren said. "You only had to meet John once, and you would remember him."
Michael Holly said he had been looking forward to seeing Harris when he returned home in November. "We did everything together," he said.
"He was a really good guy," he said. "Even if he didn't know you, he'd give you the shirt off his back."
"I was proud of him," Holly said about Harris' military service.
Ellie