thedrifter
05-25-08, 12:31 PM
Run-walk honors fallen East Northport Marine
BY MICHAEL AMON
michael.amon@newsday.com
May 25, 2008
In his youth before joining the Marines, Christopher Scherer biked and Rollerbladed through the right-angled intersections that divvy up his East Northport neighborhood like a tic-tac-toe board - a place he fondly nicknamed "The Grid."
Yesterday, more than 800 people - wearing T-shirts saying, "I Did The Grid" - filled those streets, racing, jogging and walking to honor Scherer, who was killed in combat in Iraq last year.
"It's the least we can do to just say, 'Thank you,'" said Joe Hinton, 51, of Northport, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps Reserves who crossed the finish line carrying a large red Marine Corps flag.
The huge turnout overwhelmed Scherer's family, who had expected about 200 to show up for an event they plan to organize annually.
The event raised an estimated $15,000 for the Cpl. Christopher G. Scherer Semper Fi Fund, which awards scholarships to Northport High School students and sends to Iraq supplies directly requested by Marines in letters home.
"It's just amazing, the amount of support," said Scherer's sister, Meghan Scherer, 19, a student at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. "We just can't believe it."
Scherer, 21, was killed on July 21 by a sniper's bullet as he piled sandbags to secure an operations base in Karmah, about 50 miles west of Baghdad. He joined the Marines at age 17.
"He did exactly what he wanted to do, and he grew into a man doing it," said the Marine's father, Timothy Scherer, 49. "We miss our son terribly but we support the Marine Corps and we want people to know that."
On a sun-drenched morning, about 100 children began the event with a 1-mile "fun run." It was followed by a 4-mile jaunt through the verdant blocks of "The Grid."
As Scherer's friend Ian Spitzli walked along those familiar streets near Pulaski Road Elementary School, childhood memories of block parties and bike rides resurfaced.
"There were a lot of families on our block, about 25 kids altogether," said Spitzli, 22, referring to Madsen Lane, the cul-de-sac street now renamed Cpl. Christopher G. Scherer Way. "For me, what I was thinking about today was growing up here with Chris."
Timothy Scherer said he planned the event on Memorial Day weekend to honor all fallen American service members.
Each participant received a racing bib with the name of a New York State service member killed in action. At the finish line, runners rang a bell, representing the "final call" for that person.
Chris Cusmano, 25, a Columbia University School of Law student, easily won the race, cruising to victory in less than 23 minutes. He didn't know Scherer, but "I had read about him, and it was a good cause for Memorial Day weekend."
An hour later, Scherer's parents, brother and two sisters ended the run to whooping applause, walking hand-in-hand across the finish line at Pulaski Road school. They each struck the bell for one of five Northport armed forces members killed in action. The last bell was rung for Scherer by his mother, Janet, who wore the number 629 - her son's birth date.
The run was followed by an emotional ceremony in which a wreath with red, white and blue carnations was placed at the base of a pear tree planted in Scherer's honor at Pulaski Road school. Standing in the bed of a pickup truck, Scherer's father led participants in singing "God Bless America."
Among the crowd was Stephen Seibert, 56, of East Northport, whose thoughts turned to his own 21-year-old son, Lance Cpl. Stephen M. Seibert, a Marine in Iraq about 20 miles from where Scherer's unit was stationed.
"For the community to come together like this, it makes a big difference to a soldier's family," Seibert said.
Ellie
BY MICHAEL AMON
michael.amon@newsday.com
May 25, 2008
In his youth before joining the Marines, Christopher Scherer biked and Rollerbladed through the right-angled intersections that divvy up his East Northport neighborhood like a tic-tac-toe board - a place he fondly nicknamed "The Grid."
Yesterday, more than 800 people - wearing T-shirts saying, "I Did The Grid" - filled those streets, racing, jogging and walking to honor Scherer, who was killed in combat in Iraq last year.
"It's the least we can do to just say, 'Thank you,'" said Joe Hinton, 51, of Northport, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps Reserves who crossed the finish line carrying a large red Marine Corps flag.
The huge turnout overwhelmed Scherer's family, who had expected about 200 to show up for an event they plan to organize annually.
The event raised an estimated $15,000 for the Cpl. Christopher G. Scherer Semper Fi Fund, which awards scholarships to Northport High School students and sends to Iraq supplies directly requested by Marines in letters home.
"It's just amazing, the amount of support," said Scherer's sister, Meghan Scherer, 19, a student at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. "We just can't believe it."
Scherer, 21, was killed on July 21 by a sniper's bullet as he piled sandbags to secure an operations base in Karmah, about 50 miles west of Baghdad. He joined the Marines at age 17.
"He did exactly what he wanted to do, and he grew into a man doing it," said the Marine's father, Timothy Scherer, 49. "We miss our son terribly but we support the Marine Corps and we want people to know that."
On a sun-drenched morning, about 100 children began the event with a 1-mile "fun run." It was followed by a 4-mile jaunt through the verdant blocks of "The Grid."
As Scherer's friend Ian Spitzli walked along those familiar streets near Pulaski Road Elementary School, childhood memories of block parties and bike rides resurfaced.
"There were a lot of families on our block, about 25 kids altogether," said Spitzli, 22, referring to Madsen Lane, the cul-de-sac street now renamed Cpl. Christopher G. Scherer Way. "For me, what I was thinking about today was growing up here with Chris."
Timothy Scherer said he planned the event on Memorial Day weekend to honor all fallen American service members.
Each participant received a racing bib with the name of a New York State service member killed in action. At the finish line, runners rang a bell, representing the "final call" for that person.
Chris Cusmano, 25, a Columbia University School of Law student, easily won the race, cruising to victory in less than 23 minutes. He didn't know Scherer, but "I had read about him, and it was a good cause for Memorial Day weekend."
An hour later, Scherer's parents, brother and two sisters ended the run to whooping applause, walking hand-in-hand across the finish line at Pulaski Road school. They each struck the bell for one of five Northport armed forces members killed in action. The last bell was rung for Scherer by his mother, Janet, who wore the number 629 - her son's birth date.
The run was followed by an emotional ceremony in which a wreath with red, white and blue carnations was placed at the base of a pear tree planted in Scherer's honor at Pulaski Road school. Standing in the bed of a pickup truck, Scherer's father led participants in singing "God Bless America."
Among the crowd was Stephen Seibert, 56, of East Northport, whose thoughts turned to his own 21-year-old son, Lance Cpl. Stephen M. Seibert, a Marine in Iraq about 20 miles from where Scherer's unit was stationed.
"For the community to come together like this, it makes a big difference to a soldier's family," Seibert said.
Ellie