thedrifter
03-31-09, 06:34 AM
Funeral of a fallen Marine
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
By Dan Kristie, Special to the Times
UPPER OXFORD — The minister who presided over the funeral of Anthony L. Williams, the 21-year-old Marine from Oxford who was killed in Afghanistan last week, told mourners that although war is awful, it's worse to live life without beliefs for which you are willing to die. (Story continued after slideshow).
http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2009/03/31/news/doc49d0c92d76602064383690.prt
The Rev. Edward Arnold said Williams believed deeply in America and in God and was morally superior to those who live for nothing except their own comfort and safety.
Mourners packed Beulah Baptist Church for Williams' Saturday morning funeral, and when Arnold asked them to share
their memories of the fallen Marine, they recalled a fun-loving boy who suddenly took upon himself the duties of a man.
As the mourners talked about Williams, they seemed to have difficulty reconciling the image of him as a happy-go-lucky kid with the image of him as a soldier.
"They sent back a Marine, but we saw a boy," read a line of a poem written by Dale Edwards, one of the mourners.
Cpl. Kyle Kusko of Wisconsin served in Iraq with Williams and came to the lectern toward the end of the service to share his impressions of the fallen Marine's character and sense of humor.
Kusko recalled a time when Williams pulled his armored vehicle so close to Kusko's that their side mirrors hit.
"I said, 'You hit me.' He said, 'No I didn't. You hit me.' I said, 'How could I have hit you? I wasn't even moving.' And he said, 'Yeah you were. You just don't know it yet.'"
Kusko also remembered the times he and Williams tried to quit smoking.
"Every time he'd quit, I'd have a pack of cigarettes and come by his room to see if he wanted to smoke, and vice versa. One day he stopped by my room and said, 'You wanna grab a smoke?' I said, 'Man, I've quit.' He said, 'No one likes a quitter.'"
While Williams had a characteristic sense of humor, he was also well-liked by all the Marines with whom he served, Kusko said.
"No one had a quarrel with him," Kusko said. "No one."
Williams was laid to rest in the graveyard next to the church. Surrounded by a crowd more than 10 people deep, he was sent off with a 21-gun salute.
Williams was killed March 22 while supporting combat operations in Helmand Province, according to the U.S. Defense Department. Cpl. Michael W. Oulette, 28, of Manchester, N.H., was killed with him.
Williams was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He graduated from Oxford Area High School and CAT-Brandywine in 2006. While serving in the Marines, he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and the Sharpshooter Ribbon.
To contact staff writer Dan Kristie, send an e-mail to dkristie@dailylocal.com.
Ellie
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
By Dan Kristie, Special to the Times
UPPER OXFORD — The minister who presided over the funeral of Anthony L. Williams, the 21-year-old Marine from Oxford who was killed in Afghanistan last week, told mourners that although war is awful, it's worse to live life without beliefs for which you are willing to die. (Story continued after slideshow).
http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2009/03/31/news/doc49d0c92d76602064383690.prt
The Rev. Edward Arnold said Williams believed deeply in America and in God and was morally superior to those who live for nothing except their own comfort and safety.
Mourners packed Beulah Baptist Church for Williams' Saturday morning funeral, and when Arnold asked them to share
their memories of the fallen Marine, they recalled a fun-loving boy who suddenly took upon himself the duties of a man.
As the mourners talked about Williams, they seemed to have difficulty reconciling the image of him as a happy-go-lucky kid with the image of him as a soldier.
"They sent back a Marine, but we saw a boy," read a line of a poem written by Dale Edwards, one of the mourners.
Cpl. Kyle Kusko of Wisconsin served in Iraq with Williams and came to the lectern toward the end of the service to share his impressions of the fallen Marine's character and sense of humor.
Kusko recalled a time when Williams pulled his armored vehicle so close to Kusko's that their side mirrors hit.
"I said, 'You hit me.' He said, 'No I didn't. You hit me.' I said, 'How could I have hit you? I wasn't even moving.' And he said, 'Yeah you were. You just don't know it yet.'"
Kusko also remembered the times he and Williams tried to quit smoking.
"Every time he'd quit, I'd have a pack of cigarettes and come by his room to see if he wanted to smoke, and vice versa. One day he stopped by my room and said, 'You wanna grab a smoke?' I said, 'Man, I've quit.' He said, 'No one likes a quitter.'"
While Williams had a characteristic sense of humor, he was also well-liked by all the Marines with whom he served, Kusko said.
"No one had a quarrel with him," Kusko said. "No one."
Williams was laid to rest in the graveyard next to the church. Surrounded by a crowd more than 10 people deep, he was sent off with a 21-gun salute.
Williams was killed March 22 while supporting combat operations in Helmand Province, according to the U.S. Defense Department. Cpl. Michael W. Oulette, 28, of Manchester, N.H., was killed with him.
Williams was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He graduated from Oxford Area High School and CAT-Brandywine in 2006. While serving in the Marines, he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon and the Sharpshooter Ribbon.
To contact staff writer Dan Kristie, send an e-mail to dkristie@dailylocal.com.
Ellie