thedrifter
06-29-08, 07:53 AM
Posted on Sun, Jun. 29, 2008
Lexington Marine remembered for faith, dedication
By Andy Mead
amead@herald-leader.com
Marine Capt. Eric Terhune, the first Lexington resident killed in the conflict in Afghanistan, was remembered Saturday as a Christian and a soldier who was devoted to his branch of the armed services.
The Marine Corps was “a major theme in Eric's life,” said his uncle, David Terhune, to the more than 400 people who packed Tates Creek Presbyterian Church for the funeral.
Terhune, 34, was killed June 19 in Afghanistan's Farah province. Also killed was Lance Cpl. Andrew Francis Whitacre, 21, of Bryant, Ind.
The men died while on a security patrol. Capt. Terhune's family was told he was hit by small arms fire.
He had already served two tours of duty in Iraq when he volunteered for what the military calls Operation Enduring Freedom, but which is widely known as “the other war.”
His 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division had been sent to the area in the early spring in anticipation of increased activity by the Taliban.
His death came during a bad week for the battalion: Seven Marines were killed.
He became the 10th Kentuckian killed in Afghanistan. More than 450 Americans have died in the fighting.
The tone of Capt. Terhune's phone calls and e-mails from Afghanistan was sober, his uncle, David Terhune, said, and he described the situation as “hot.”
An unusually long and detailed e-mail to cousins three days before his death included this wry advice: “Don't come to Afghanistan on a sight-seeing tour.”
But, David Terhune said in an interview, his nephew was sure he was doing the right thing.
“He really believed we are in a fight with evil, and he saw Afghanistan as the source of the Twin Towers attack,” he said. “He felt he was protecting his little cousins.”
Eric Daniel Terhune was the son and grandson of Marines.
He was even “born a Marine,” in Quantico Naval Hospital in Virginia, while his father, Paul, was stationed at the Marine base there.
When Eric was 11 months old, he came to Lexington to live with his grandparents, Daniel and Joy Terhune, because his father was a single parent trying to manage a military career.
He grew up in Lexington and graduated from Wheaton Academy, a Christian high school in Wheaton, Ill.
His uncle described him as a great athlete, a competitive swimmer and someone who loved to hunt. His greatest love probably was scuba diving; he collected shells and sharks' teeth from the many places the Marines sent him.
He joined the Marine Corps immediately after high school and spent four years “growing up” in the infantry, David Terhune said.
Then, because he wanted to be a pilot like his father, and because that required a college degree, he enrolled at Morehead State University.
He was a trained sharpshooter and was on Morehead's varsity rifle team.
David Terhune said there was never any doubt who put the closely grouped holes in the targets when he was competing.
But, because his grandmother Joy was such a helpful researcher, “God only knows how many of his college papers he actually wrote.”
After college, he was commissioned as an officer, and learned to fly CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters before being sent to Iraq.
He returned home safely from his first tour of duty, David Terhune said. But on the second tour, he had a severe non-combat injury: While riding a bicycle from the helicopter pad to his barracks one night, he didn't see a gate that was closed.
The result was a severe head injury that caused him to have seizures for a time and prohibited him from flying.
He trained as a forward air controller, traveling with ground troops but directing aircraft to where they were needed. When he found out that such skills were in short supply in Afghanistan, he volunteered to go.
“He had a lot of conversations with his dad: ‘What do you think about this Afghanistan thing?'” David Terhune said. “His dad laid out the pros and cons, and Eric said, ‘Look, if you're in the Marine Corps, you don't duck the fight.'”
The Terhune family has heard from many people since Capt. Terhune's death. They included wives who said he had volunteered to take their husband's place on missions because he was single with no children.
And, David Terhune said, he was so sure of his faith that he wasn't afraid to die.
“He would say, ‘Listen, you don't have to worry about me. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.'”
After his funeral service, as the coffin was being rolled down the aisle, a bagpiper played Amazing Grace, then The Marines' Hymn.
Burial was at Camp Nelson National Cemetery. The military honors there included a 21-gun salute and taps.
The tightly folded flag from his coffin was presented to his grandparents. Another flag was presented to his father.
Then four FA-18 jets roared over the cemetery in what is called a “missing man” formation.
As they passed over the mourners, flying low, one jet peeled away from the others, rose into dark clouds, and disappeared.
Reach Andy Mead at (859) 231-3319 or 1-800-950-6397, ext. 3319.
Ellie
Lexington Marine remembered for faith, dedication
By Andy Mead
amead@herald-leader.com
Marine Capt. Eric Terhune, the first Lexington resident killed in the conflict in Afghanistan, was remembered Saturday as a Christian and a soldier who was devoted to his branch of the armed services.
The Marine Corps was “a major theme in Eric's life,” said his uncle, David Terhune, to the more than 400 people who packed Tates Creek Presbyterian Church for the funeral.
Terhune, 34, was killed June 19 in Afghanistan's Farah province. Also killed was Lance Cpl. Andrew Francis Whitacre, 21, of Bryant, Ind.
The men died while on a security patrol. Capt. Terhune's family was told he was hit by small arms fire.
He had already served two tours of duty in Iraq when he volunteered for what the military calls Operation Enduring Freedom, but which is widely known as “the other war.”
His 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division had been sent to the area in the early spring in anticipation of increased activity by the Taliban.
His death came during a bad week for the battalion: Seven Marines were killed.
He became the 10th Kentuckian killed in Afghanistan. More than 450 Americans have died in the fighting.
The tone of Capt. Terhune's phone calls and e-mails from Afghanistan was sober, his uncle, David Terhune, said, and he described the situation as “hot.”
An unusually long and detailed e-mail to cousins three days before his death included this wry advice: “Don't come to Afghanistan on a sight-seeing tour.”
But, David Terhune said in an interview, his nephew was sure he was doing the right thing.
“He really believed we are in a fight with evil, and he saw Afghanistan as the source of the Twin Towers attack,” he said. “He felt he was protecting his little cousins.”
Eric Daniel Terhune was the son and grandson of Marines.
He was even “born a Marine,” in Quantico Naval Hospital in Virginia, while his father, Paul, was stationed at the Marine base there.
When Eric was 11 months old, he came to Lexington to live with his grandparents, Daniel and Joy Terhune, because his father was a single parent trying to manage a military career.
He grew up in Lexington and graduated from Wheaton Academy, a Christian high school in Wheaton, Ill.
His uncle described him as a great athlete, a competitive swimmer and someone who loved to hunt. His greatest love probably was scuba diving; he collected shells and sharks' teeth from the many places the Marines sent him.
He joined the Marine Corps immediately after high school and spent four years “growing up” in the infantry, David Terhune said.
Then, because he wanted to be a pilot like his father, and because that required a college degree, he enrolled at Morehead State University.
He was a trained sharpshooter and was on Morehead's varsity rifle team.
David Terhune said there was never any doubt who put the closely grouped holes in the targets when he was competing.
But, because his grandmother Joy was such a helpful researcher, “God only knows how many of his college papers he actually wrote.”
After college, he was commissioned as an officer, and learned to fly CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters before being sent to Iraq.
He returned home safely from his first tour of duty, David Terhune said. But on the second tour, he had a severe non-combat injury: While riding a bicycle from the helicopter pad to his barracks one night, he didn't see a gate that was closed.
The result was a severe head injury that caused him to have seizures for a time and prohibited him from flying.
He trained as a forward air controller, traveling with ground troops but directing aircraft to where they were needed. When he found out that such skills were in short supply in Afghanistan, he volunteered to go.
“He had a lot of conversations with his dad: ‘What do you think about this Afghanistan thing?'” David Terhune said. “His dad laid out the pros and cons, and Eric said, ‘Look, if you're in the Marine Corps, you don't duck the fight.'”
The Terhune family has heard from many people since Capt. Terhune's death. They included wives who said he had volunteered to take their husband's place on missions because he was single with no children.
And, David Terhune said, he was so sure of his faith that he wasn't afraid to die.
“He would say, ‘Listen, you don't have to worry about me. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.'”
After his funeral service, as the coffin was being rolled down the aisle, a bagpiper played Amazing Grace, then The Marines' Hymn.
Burial was at Camp Nelson National Cemetery. The military honors there included a 21-gun salute and taps.
The tightly folded flag from his coffin was presented to his grandparents. Another flag was presented to his father.
Then four FA-18 jets roared over the cemetery in what is called a “missing man” formation.
As they passed over the mourners, flying low, one jet peeled away from the others, rose into dark clouds, and disappeared.
Reach Andy Mead at (859) 231-3319 or 1-800-950-6397, ext. 3319.
Ellie