thedrifter
02-25-09, 06:30 AM
Published: February 25, 2009 04:00 am
Soldier's flags fly at half-staff
By Tom Grace
Cooperstown News Bureau
BURLINGTON FLATS _ The flags that Michael Mayne brought to Burlington Flats Memorial Park were flown at half-staff Tuesday in his honor.
Army Cpl. Mayne, 21, was killed in action near Baghdad on Monday.
Six years ago, while a student at Edmeston Central School, Mayne was a Boy Scout in Troop 9.
To become an Eagle Scout, he decided to set out poles and fly flags for every branch of the United States' military services on the green near his house in Burlington Flats.
In May 2003, during a Memorial Day service, Mayne unveiled his Eagle project, with flags for the Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Air Force and Merchant Marines centered on an American flag.
His minister, the Rev. Jay Henderson, whose Baptist Church overlooks the green, said the symbols have even more meaning now for those who know how they got there.
Brian Long, Mayne's former scoutmaster, recalled the determination and work that went into that project.
``He was serious about what he was going to,'' Long said. ``You know the Boy Scout oath: `On my honor, I will do my best: to do my duty to God and my country ...' Well, he believed in that. He lived it.''
Mayne excelled as a Scout and came to serve on the staff at the Boy Scout reservation at Crumhorn Mountain in Maryland, said Long. ``He was someone the boys looked up to.''
Jim Brophy, guidance counselor at ECS, said Mayne maintained an acceptable academic average, but loved the outdoors and an active life.
``As a junior and senior, he spent half-days at BOCES, studying welding and natural-resources occupations, and they loved him there,'' Brophy said. ``We loved him here. He was fun to be with and would go out of his way to help anyone.''
Katelyn Hoyt, a 2004 graduate of Edmeston Central School, remembered Mayne as ``always smiling, with a look in his eyes so you weren't sure what he was thinking. Then his smile would gave it away.''
His best friend, she said, was his father, Lee.
Hoyt's brother, Jamison, a 2003 graduate, said Mayne was confident and cheerful, ``like someone who knows from the get-go what he's going to do in life.''
After high school, Mayne enlisted in the Army while classmates Tom Tophoven and Tony Degristina enrolled in colleges. But the young men stayed in touch, which made Monday's loss all the harder, said Degristina.
``The last time I talked to him was Saturday,'' he said. ``He was thinking about going to school for criminal justice and getting a job with the federal government when he got out of the Army.''
Though many in the class of 2006 stay in touch via text messages and social networking websites, Degristina said he and Mayne used the telephone.
``I knew it was him in Iraq when I got a call and it didn't have an area code,'' Degristina said Tuesday at his home.
On the table before him were photo albums going back to elementary school, of him and Michael growing up together, perhaps a half mile apart.
``We used to hunt a lot; he loved to hunt, and sometimes we'd go up to the Fish and Game Club and shoot twenty-twos,'' he said. ``He was a good shot.''
Tophoven said he also hunted with Mayne.
``He liked to be outside, and hunting was one of his favorite activities,'' he said. ``And he liked guy things, trucks and motors, the louder the better.
``We had great times together," Tophoven continued, "and when I heard about this, I almost couldn't believe it. It's just incredible that he's gone.''
Mayne is the first soldier from Otsego County to die during the nearly six-year war and occupation of Iraq.
On Tuesday, neither the Department of Defense nor the U.S. Army released new information about Monday's casualties or details of the engagement with the militants.
"Further information concerning this incident will not be released until all next of kin have been notified," said Maj. Hunter Holliday, of the Multi-National Force Iraq Media Operations Center.
Ellie
Soldier's flags fly at half-staff
By Tom Grace
Cooperstown News Bureau
BURLINGTON FLATS _ The flags that Michael Mayne brought to Burlington Flats Memorial Park were flown at half-staff Tuesday in his honor.
Army Cpl. Mayne, 21, was killed in action near Baghdad on Monday.
Six years ago, while a student at Edmeston Central School, Mayne was a Boy Scout in Troop 9.
To become an Eagle Scout, he decided to set out poles and fly flags for every branch of the United States' military services on the green near his house in Burlington Flats.
In May 2003, during a Memorial Day service, Mayne unveiled his Eagle project, with flags for the Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Air Force and Merchant Marines centered on an American flag.
His minister, the Rev. Jay Henderson, whose Baptist Church overlooks the green, said the symbols have even more meaning now for those who know how they got there.
Brian Long, Mayne's former scoutmaster, recalled the determination and work that went into that project.
``He was serious about what he was going to,'' Long said. ``You know the Boy Scout oath: `On my honor, I will do my best: to do my duty to God and my country ...' Well, he believed in that. He lived it.''
Mayne excelled as a Scout and came to serve on the staff at the Boy Scout reservation at Crumhorn Mountain in Maryland, said Long. ``He was someone the boys looked up to.''
Jim Brophy, guidance counselor at ECS, said Mayne maintained an acceptable academic average, but loved the outdoors and an active life.
``As a junior and senior, he spent half-days at BOCES, studying welding and natural-resources occupations, and they loved him there,'' Brophy said. ``We loved him here. He was fun to be with and would go out of his way to help anyone.''
Katelyn Hoyt, a 2004 graduate of Edmeston Central School, remembered Mayne as ``always smiling, with a look in his eyes so you weren't sure what he was thinking. Then his smile would gave it away.''
His best friend, she said, was his father, Lee.
Hoyt's brother, Jamison, a 2003 graduate, said Mayne was confident and cheerful, ``like someone who knows from the get-go what he's going to do in life.''
After high school, Mayne enlisted in the Army while classmates Tom Tophoven and Tony Degristina enrolled in colleges. But the young men stayed in touch, which made Monday's loss all the harder, said Degristina.
``The last time I talked to him was Saturday,'' he said. ``He was thinking about going to school for criminal justice and getting a job with the federal government when he got out of the Army.''
Though many in the class of 2006 stay in touch via text messages and social networking websites, Degristina said he and Mayne used the telephone.
``I knew it was him in Iraq when I got a call and it didn't have an area code,'' Degristina said Tuesday at his home.
On the table before him were photo albums going back to elementary school, of him and Michael growing up together, perhaps a half mile apart.
``We used to hunt a lot; he loved to hunt, and sometimes we'd go up to the Fish and Game Club and shoot twenty-twos,'' he said. ``He was a good shot.''
Tophoven said he also hunted with Mayne.
``He liked to be outside, and hunting was one of his favorite activities,'' he said. ``And he liked guy things, trucks and motors, the louder the better.
``We had great times together," Tophoven continued, "and when I heard about this, I almost couldn't believe it. It's just incredible that he's gone.''
Mayne is the first soldier from Otsego County to die during the nearly six-year war and occupation of Iraq.
On Tuesday, neither the Department of Defense nor the U.S. Army released new information about Monday's casualties or details of the engagement with the militants.
"Further information concerning this incident will not be released until all next of kin have been notified," said Maj. Hunter Holliday, of the Multi-National Force Iraq Media Operations Center.
Ellie