thedrifter
08-04-08, 06:36 AM
Posted on Sun, Aug. 3, 2008
Marine 'died doing what he believed in'
By Kia Gregory
Inquirer Staff Writer
Flags dotted the path into Veterans Island yesterday morning as family and friends went to pay tribute to a fallen Marine, First Lt. Jason Mann.
Mann, 29, of Woodlynne, was killed July 17 when the roof of a building collapsed on him in Helmand Province in Afghanistan.
The family has said it believes engineers were working on the roof and may not have known Mann was inside.
On a makeshift stage along the Cooper River in Pennsauken sat Mann's family, including the two he called "his girls": his wife, Shannon, 23, also a Marine, and their 2-year-old daughter, Isabella, wearing a black-and-white flowered dress and pink sandals.
Behind them, a line of Marines, past and present, held U.S. and Marine Corps flags under the gray sky.
Dozens gathered, some clutching tissues, in the grassy park, where Mann sometimes ran as he trained for the Marines' fitness exam.
The memorial program started with a welcome from Woodlynne Mayor Jeraldo Fuentes.
"Tears may flow as we take this time to honor Lt. Jason Mann," Fuentes said. "He's a hero. He wasn't just a hero to his family. He's a hero to this country."
Mann was a graduate of Collingswood High School and earned a finance degree from the University of South Carolina. He graduated from his Marine Corps officers' class with top honors.
Last year, he served eight months in Iraq, and in March, he left for Afghanistan.
About two weeks before his death, he rushed to a helicopter crash and pulled a pilot from the wreckage as fuel spilled on the ground.
"He was a wonderful, wonderful son, not just a wonderful Marine," Mann's mother, Alfina, said in a trembling voice.
"I don't think he would want us to say he was a hero today, but he loved being a Marine. Most of all, he loved his wife and daughter, and we grieve that he won't be here for them."
When Mann told his mother that he was headed to Afghanistan, she said, she was afraid.
Iraq was bad enough, she told him.
She remembered him saying, "Mom, you just need to put me in God's hands."
"And I did that every day," she told the gathering.
Mann's brother, William, also an Iraq war veteran, joked how the Marines transformed Mann from a sarcastic, chubby kid with thick glasses - who had tons of potential but couldn't decide whether to become a veterinarian or a trash collector - into a high-speed superhero, "minus the tights."
"My brother wasn't just of strong mind and body," he said, "but of strong character."
"Now when people ask me, 'How's your brother doing?' I'll say: 'He died doing what he believed in. He's being honored and remembered. My brother is a hero, and now he serves the Lord.' As a family, we have never felt so much pain and pride for the sacrifice my brother made."
The memorial ended with a gun salute and a bluesy rendition of Taps as Mann's widow hugged their daughter.
A second memorial was held later at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Oaklyn.
Contact staff writer Kia Gregory at 215-854-2601 or kgregory@phillynews.com.
Ellie
Marine 'died doing what he believed in'
By Kia Gregory
Inquirer Staff Writer
Flags dotted the path into Veterans Island yesterday morning as family and friends went to pay tribute to a fallen Marine, First Lt. Jason Mann.
Mann, 29, of Woodlynne, was killed July 17 when the roof of a building collapsed on him in Helmand Province in Afghanistan.
The family has said it believes engineers were working on the roof and may not have known Mann was inside.
On a makeshift stage along the Cooper River in Pennsauken sat Mann's family, including the two he called "his girls": his wife, Shannon, 23, also a Marine, and their 2-year-old daughter, Isabella, wearing a black-and-white flowered dress and pink sandals.
Behind them, a line of Marines, past and present, held U.S. and Marine Corps flags under the gray sky.
Dozens gathered, some clutching tissues, in the grassy park, where Mann sometimes ran as he trained for the Marines' fitness exam.
The memorial program started with a welcome from Woodlynne Mayor Jeraldo Fuentes.
"Tears may flow as we take this time to honor Lt. Jason Mann," Fuentes said. "He's a hero. He wasn't just a hero to his family. He's a hero to this country."
Mann was a graduate of Collingswood High School and earned a finance degree from the University of South Carolina. He graduated from his Marine Corps officers' class with top honors.
Last year, he served eight months in Iraq, and in March, he left for Afghanistan.
About two weeks before his death, he rushed to a helicopter crash and pulled a pilot from the wreckage as fuel spilled on the ground.
"He was a wonderful, wonderful son, not just a wonderful Marine," Mann's mother, Alfina, said in a trembling voice.
"I don't think he would want us to say he was a hero today, but he loved being a Marine. Most of all, he loved his wife and daughter, and we grieve that he won't be here for them."
When Mann told his mother that he was headed to Afghanistan, she said, she was afraid.
Iraq was bad enough, she told him.
She remembered him saying, "Mom, you just need to put me in God's hands."
"And I did that every day," she told the gathering.
Mann's brother, William, also an Iraq war veteran, joked how the Marines transformed Mann from a sarcastic, chubby kid with thick glasses - who had tons of potential but couldn't decide whether to become a veterinarian or a trash collector - into a high-speed superhero, "minus the tights."
"My brother wasn't just of strong mind and body," he said, "but of strong character."
"Now when people ask me, 'How's your brother doing?' I'll say: 'He died doing what he believed in. He's being honored and remembered. My brother is a hero, and now he serves the Lord.' As a family, we have never felt so much pain and pride for the sacrifice my brother made."
The memorial ended with a gun salute and a bluesy rendition of Taps as Mann's widow hugged their daughter.
A second memorial was held later at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Oaklyn.
Contact staff writer Kia Gregory at 215-854-2601 or kgregory@phillynews.com.
Ellie