thedrifter
07-15-08, 06:14 AM
Autopsy is set for N.J. Marine who loved life
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
BY JOE MOSZCZYNSKI AND WAYNE WOOLLEY
Star-Ledger Staff
The military will perform an autopsy today on the remains of a Marine from Sussex County who died over the weekend while serving in Iraq, his family said.
The circumstances surrounding the death of 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Jeffery Stevenson remained unclear yesterday.
His stepfather, Joe Solarino, expects to learn more today when representatives of the Marine Corps meet with family members at their home in Stillwater. The Department of Defense has not yet officially announced Stevenson's death, but has confirmed that a Marine died over the weekend at Camp Fallujah in western Iraq "in a non-combat-related incident." A Marine spokesman declined to elaborate.
Stevenson was the 102nd service member with ties to New Jersey to die in Iraq.
People who knew Stevenson yesterday described a young man who served his country with great enthusiasm.
Home on leave last year, the 2006 Kittatinny Regional High School graduate returned to the school and encouraged students there to consider military service.
"He earnestly believed that it was the responsibility of all young people to serve in the armed forces," said Robert Walker, who was the school district superintendent when Stevenson was a student.
Walker called Stevenson a "solid patriot" who fervently supported the Iraq war while respecting people who did not.
"He always gave his point of view intelligently without becoming offensive," Walker said.
Stevenson enlisted within six months of graduating from high school, following his older brother, Robert Stevenson, into military service. The older brother is stationed in Wyoming and has six months remaining in his four-year commitment to the Air Force, family members said.
By seventh grade, Jeffery Stevenson had begun talking about joining the military.
"It's something he had always wanted to do," said his stepfather. Although Stevenson had not told his family how long he planned to stay in the Marines, his private online profile on MySpace.com said he was "in for life," his stepfather said.
A quote on the public portion of Stevenson's profile summed up his philosophy: "i refuse to tip-toe through life, only to arrive safely at death." In the accompanying photograph, Stevenson is wearing camouflage fatigues and looking through the sights of an M-16 rifle.
Craig Hutcheson, the current superintendent at Kittatinny, said the flag outside the school would fly at half-staff for at least at week. He said the school board planned to adopt a resolution in Stevenson's honor Thursday night.
"We were very proud of him," Hutcheson said.
Stevenson's body is expected to arrive today at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where an autopsy will be performed, said Solarino. He said funeral arrangements at the Smith-McCracken Funeral Home in Newton were pending.
Solarino, who is married to Stevenson's mother, Karen Solarino, said Stevenson had a passion for life. "He loved riding his motorcycle and his quads," four-wheel-drive all-terrain vehicles. "And he loved being with friends. He loved family get-togethers."
Ellie
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
BY JOE MOSZCZYNSKI AND WAYNE WOOLLEY
Star-Ledger Staff
The military will perform an autopsy today on the remains of a Marine from Sussex County who died over the weekend while serving in Iraq, his family said.
The circumstances surrounding the death of 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Jeffery Stevenson remained unclear yesterday.
His stepfather, Joe Solarino, expects to learn more today when representatives of the Marine Corps meet with family members at their home in Stillwater. The Department of Defense has not yet officially announced Stevenson's death, but has confirmed that a Marine died over the weekend at Camp Fallujah in western Iraq "in a non-combat-related incident." A Marine spokesman declined to elaborate.
Stevenson was the 102nd service member with ties to New Jersey to die in Iraq.
People who knew Stevenson yesterday described a young man who served his country with great enthusiasm.
Home on leave last year, the 2006 Kittatinny Regional High School graduate returned to the school and encouraged students there to consider military service.
"He earnestly believed that it was the responsibility of all young people to serve in the armed forces," said Robert Walker, who was the school district superintendent when Stevenson was a student.
Walker called Stevenson a "solid patriot" who fervently supported the Iraq war while respecting people who did not.
"He always gave his point of view intelligently without becoming offensive," Walker said.
Stevenson enlisted within six months of graduating from high school, following his older brother, Robert Stevenson, into military service. The older brother is stationed in Wyoming and has six months remaining in his four-year commitment to the Air Force, family members said.
By seventh grade, Jeffery Stevenson had begun talking about joining the military.
"It's something he had always wanted to do," said his stepfather. Although Stevenson had not told his family how long he planned to stay in the Marines, his private online profile on MySpace.com said he was "in for life," his stepfather said.
A quote on the public portion of Stevenson's profile summed up his philosophy: "i refuse to tip-toe through life, only to arrive safely at death." In the accompanying photograph, Stevenson is wearing camouflage fatigues and looking through the sights of an M-16 rifle.
Craig Hutcheson, the current superintendent at Kittatinny, said the flag outside the school would fly at half-staff for at least at week. He said the school board planned to adopt a resolution in Stevenson's honor Thursday night.
"We were very proud of him," Hutcheson said.
Stevenson's body is expected to arrive today at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where an autopsy will be performed, said Solarino. He said funeral arrangements at the Smith-McCracken Funeral Home in Newton were pending.
Solarino, who is married to Stevenson's mother, Karen Solarino, said Stevenson had a passion for life. "He loved riding his motorcycle and his quads," four-wheel-drive all-terrain vehicles. "And he loved being with friends. He loved family get-togethers."
Ellie