thedrifter
08-15-08, 08:19 AM
Marine comes home
Lance Cpl. Ivan Wilson's body escorted from Sacramento to Lower Lake
By MIKE GENIELLA
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Friday, August 15, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, August 15, 2008 at 3:42 a.m.
LOWER LAKE -- A hearse carrying the flag-draped casket of Marine Lance Cpl. Ivan Wilson slowed Thursday afternoon along Lakeshore Boulevard, where clusters of somber onlookers gathered in front of the apartment complex where Wilson grew up.
People waved flags and hugged as the procession made its way to a nearby Lower Lake funeral home.
Thursday was a belated homecoming for Wilson, a strapping 22-year-old Marine who was killed July 21 in Afghanistan when a roadside bomb blew up. He died aboard a helicopter as it rushed him to a military hospital.
"He's home now," said his father, Chris Wilson.
At 10 a.m. Saturday, a funeral Mass for Wilson will be celebrated at Queen of Peace Church in Clearlake. Following the Roman Catholic rite, Wilson will be laid to rest at Lower Lake Cemetery.
The public will be allowed to view the fallen Marine's closed casket from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. today at Jones & Lewis Funeral Home on Main Street in Lower Lake.
Thursday's procession began at Sacramento International Airport, where more than 100 motorcyclists belonging to the Patriot Guard Riders and other veterans organizations gathered to escort Wilson home.
From the airport, the hearse bearing Wilson's body was led by a California Highway Patrol unit on a two-hour trek to the shores of Clear Lake.
For the Marine's mother, Denise Wilson, Thursday was one more in a series of painful days since she learned of her son's death three weeks ago.
"It was a very emotional ride," said Denise Wilson.
A six-member Marine Corps honor guard gently lifted Wilson's mahogany casket from the hearse and carried it into the chapel inside the mortuary.
Earlier, a contingent of Patriot Guard Riders patiently waited outside under a blazing-hot sun for the motorcade to arrive.
Santa Rosa's Gary Fontaine, a former Navy SEAL, said soldiers and Marines like Wilson die to preserve freedoms Americans enjoy.
John Henderson of Clearlake, a "road captain" for the Christian Motorcycle Association, stood post at the mortuary.
"We do this because soldiers like Wilson deserve to be honored," Henderson said.
For Wilson, a former Lower Lake High School football player and wrestler, there's been a steady stream of tributes, in letters to local newspapers and individual postings on Web sites.
Some recall that Wilson was no stranger to trouble. He'd been described as rebellious before joining the Marines, and got in trouble for some drinking bouts, including one on a flight home earlier this year while on leave.
But largely, Wilson was well-liked by classmates, friends and his fellow Marines.
Squad leader A.W. Tombleson called Wilson an "excellent Marine and excellent person," and told his mother in a personal note how her son had saved his life in a firefight on the roof of a building a few weeks before his death.
Susan Chisam, Wilson's eighth-grade science teacher, in a Web posting fondly recalled the young Marine as a respectful student who always asked good questions.
"I am humbled that such a young man would give his life trying to help others in a foreign land have a better life," said Chisam.
You can reach Staff Writer Mike Geniella at 462-6470 or mike.geniella@pressdemocrat
.com.
Ellie
Lance Cpl. Ivan Wilson's body escorted from Sacramento to Lower Lake
By MIKE GENIELLA
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Friday, August 15, 2008 at 4:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, August 15, 2008 at 3:42 a.m.
LOWER LAKE -- A hearse carrying the flag-draped casket of Marine Lance Cpl. Ivan Wilson slowed Thursday afternoon along Lakeshore Boulevard, where clusters of somber onlookers gathered in front of the apartment complex where Wilson grew up.
People waved flags and hugged as the procession made its way to a nearby Lower Lake funeral home.
Thursday was a belated homecoming for Wilson, a strapping 22-year-old Marine who was killed July 21 in Afghanistan when a roadside bomb blew up. He died aboard a helicopter as it rushed him to a military hospital.
"He's home now," said his father, Chris Wilson.
At 10 a.m. Saturday, a funeral Mass for Wilson will be celebrated at Queen of Peace Church in Clearlake. Following the Roman Catholic rite, Wilson will be laid to rest at Lower Lake Cemetery.
The public will be allowed to view the fallen Marine's closed casket from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. today at Jones & Lewis Funeral Home on Main Street in Lower Lake.
Thursday's procession began at Sacramento International Airport, where more than 100 motorcyclists belonging to the Patriot Guard Riders and other veterans organizations gathered to escort Wilson home.
From the airport, the hearse bearing Wilson's body was led by a California Highway Patrol unit on a two-hour trek to the shores of Clear Lake.
For the Marine's mother, Denise Wilson, Thursday was one more in a series of painful days since she learned of her son's death three weeks ago.
"It was a very emotional ride," said Denise Wilson.
A six-member Marine Corps honor guard gently lifted Wilson's mahogany casket from the hearse and carried it into the chapel inside the mortuary.
Earlier, a contingent of Patriot Guard Riders patiently waited outside under a blazing-hot sun for the motorcade to arrive.
Santa Rosa's Gary Fontaine, a former Navy SEAL, said soldiers and Marines like Wilson die to preserve freedoms Americans enjoy.
John Henderson of Clearlake, a "road captain" for the Christian Motorcycle Association, stood post at the mortuary.
"We do this because soldiers like Wilson deserve to be honored," Henderson said.
For Wilson, a former Lower Lake High School football player and wrestler, there's been a steady stream of tributes, in letters to local newspapers and individual postings on Web sites.
Some recall that Wilson was no stranger to trouble. He'd been described as rebellious before joining the Marines, and got in trouble for some drinking bouts, including one on a flight home earlier this year while on leave.
But largely, Wilson was well-liked by classmates, friends and his fellow Marines.
Squad leader A.W. Tombleson called Wilson an "excellent Marine and excellent person," and told his mother in a personal note how her son had saved his life in a firefight on the roof of a building a few weeks before his death.
Susan Chisam, Wilson's eighth-grade science teacher, in a Web posting fondly recalled the young Marine as a respectful student who always asked good questions.
"I am humbled that such a young man would give his life trying to help others in a foreign land have a better life," said Chisam.
You can reach Staff Writer Mike Geniella at 462-6470 or mike.geniella@pressdemocrat
.com.
Ellie