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thedrifter
12-30-07, 09:12 AM
Billboard honors hometown hero

Iraq war veteran earned Silver Star
By Liz Neely
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

December 30, 2007

EL CAJON – Marine Sgt. Kristopher Kane earned one of the military's highest honors after a 2004 battle in Iraq.

Kane was applauded once again – this time with a billboard dedication recently in downtown El Cajon.

Kane, a 1998 Valhalla High School graduate, is a recipient of the Silver Star, the U.S. military's third highest honor for valor in combat.

The billboard, paid for by Clear Channel, is part of the Hometown Marines program, which honors heroes in the towns they are from. The program only about a year old and so far, fewer than a dozen billboards have gone up nationwide.

Kane, 27, said the award was for all the Marines who didn't make it back.

His billboard, the first in San Diego County, is on East Main Street near Prescott Promenade. Seeing his picture on a billboard was a little surreal, Kane said.

“I don't have the words for it,” Kane said. “It's an honor, but it's also very humbling.”

Kane, a member of C Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, defended his fellow Marines during a firefight with insurgents Nov. 10, 2004. His right leg was crushed during the fight.

Kane is now stationed at Camp Pendleton, where he works as a marksmanship instructor. He lives in Murrieta.

Liz Neely: (619) 593-4961; liz.neely@uniontrib.com

Ellie