A fallen marine

[Master Oil Racing Team]

A little over a week ago one of my son Andrew's friends was killed in an ambush in Afghanistan. He was one of six killed. He was hit in the head, neck and pelvis. Colton was a dog handler. His dog Eli refused to leave his side. The Marines had to get a rope around his neck and pull him away to recover Colton's body. His body arrived at Dover a few days ago.

While we don't live in Orange Grove, we call it "our" community. Our official address is in Sandia, but that is on the other side of the lake from where we live. We have many, many friends in Orange Grove. It is a small, tight knit community. The family has been overwhelmed with support to get through these times. Friends have been searching for the last couple of days within a 25 mile radius to find a church large enough for the funeral. Some people thought of the football stadium, but (and most agree) the family didn't want that. All over town are yellow and black ribbons. Yesterday two large refinery scoping cranes lifted gigantic American flags to half mast. One on the north side of town and the other on the south side. It's a small town so you can see both of them no matter where you are in town. They are somewhere around 40 by 60 feet or larger. It is such a devastating thing for a family to lose one so young and with such great promise. The family is trying to have Ike discharged from the Marines and sent to them so they will have a what Colton considered a loving member of his own family sent back to the ones he left behind. It may be at some point I ask members here to intervene with their congressman (congresswoman) to help Ike come home to Colton's parents.

[Steve Litzell]

:(
A little over a week ago one of my son Andrew's friends was killed in an ambush in Afghanistan. He was one of six killed. He was hit in the head, neck and pelvis. Colton was a dog handler. His dog Ike refused to leave his side. The Marines had to get a rope around his neck and pull him away to recover Colton's body. His body arrived at Dover a few days ago.

While we don't live in Orange Grove, we call it "our" community. Our official address is in Sandia, but that is on the other side of the lake from where we live. We have many, many friends in Orange Grove. It is a small, tight knit community. The family has been overwhelmed with support to get through these times. Friends have been searching for the last couple of days within a 25 mile radius to find a church large enough for the funeral. Some people thought of the football stadium, but (and most agree) the family didn't want that. All over town are yellow and black ribbons. Yesterday two large refinery scoping cranes lifted gigantic American flags to half mast. One on the north side of town and the other on the south side. It's a small town so you can see both of them no matter where you are in town. They are somewhere around 40 by 60 feet or larger. It is such a devastating thing for a family to lose one so young and with such great promise. The family is trying to have Ike discharged from the Marines and sent to them so they will have a what Colton considered a loving member of his own family sent back to the ones he left behind. It may be at some point I ask members here to intervene with their congressman (congresswoman) to help Ike come home to Colton's parents.

Damn, Wayne I wish this were not so close, Prayers to the family, and I stand and salute to the fallen ones. My driver of 700H is a member of the Military, and I always try to thank him for what he does for us, buy I cry for the ones I hear about like this, God bless the family. Steve

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Thanks much Steve. I know you would be standing beside us if those loudmouth, communist "pink hogs" or the so called christian "communist baptists" show up. They'll wish they never heard of South Texas. It's people like you and your driver, and Gene East's son, and my Son-in-Law and everyone in the military that places their life on the line so that America will remain free and not have to do battle again on our own soil.

We are just a small community, and there have been many such sad occassions as this. In Chicago, New York, LA, Houston or Seattle, there are grieving families just as hurt and trying to cope as we are. It's just that we're all in one little space.....like a neighborhood, and so it makes all of us so much more aware. So thanks Steve, and appreciate your comments.

[aojesus]

Wayne,
Very sorry to hear the news. My oldest son Jay is in Afghanistan. We live in constant fear and panic when an unknown number shows up on the caller ID. Our prayers are with all involved.
Also, not sure how soon the services are but I belong to a group that attends services for Military, Police, Fire and EMS. We are the Patriot Guard Riders. patriotguard.org
If there is enough time, a group may be able to be assembled in time. Our group has been known to surround the lunatic church with American flags and open piped Harleys so nobody has to listen to the hate mongers.

I am not sure who handles your area for the Patriot Guard but Teresa may be able to help point you in the right direction if needed. She is the Texas state Captain.
Teresa Galloway
teresagalloway828@gmail.com

[Gene East]

I agree!

The Patriot Guard will keep the creeps away.

As a Baptist from birth I am appalled at the actions of this one mis-guided group who call themselves Baptists proclaiming they are doing God's will by harrassing the families of fallen heros.

Yes, I know we're supposed to pray for them, but it's hard not to say, "May they all rot in hell"!

P.S. Try this link also, http://patriotguardoftexas.org/

Also check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westboro_Baptist_Church

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Thanks Russ. I am going to check that out.

Thanks too Gene. I know we can always count on you for support.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I didn't check out the Patriot Guard Gene, because i South Texas we are mostly off the radar screen for the socialist media. I looked up the websites of the verminmeisters and was astounded to find out that they infest most major cities. I always thought that Westboro Baptists was one big misguieded church.. According to the website....they have protests this weekend all across the U.S. I cannot believe these people are really Baptists. The protests are not linked to our services of our fallen marine, but I am just blown away that there could be so many people that consider themselves Christian and act in such a manner.

Colton's body arrived in Corpus Christi yesterday with a hundred or more gathered at the airport. Our communnity stands strongly in support of our armed services, while grieving very much for our fallen marine.

[Gene East]

I'm grateful that no problems are expected for Colton's funeral.

Burying a son is extremely painful and doing so during the Christmas season must be even more difficult.

My heart goes out to his family. Please tell them many tears are being shed by people they have never met who share their grief. God bless Colton's family and may Colton receive the respect and honor he deserves from all who love freedom!

BTW:

In our area, the Patriot Guard also participates in funerals for veterans who die of natural causes and when no harrassment is expected from WBC.

My brother-in-law Jesse served in the Navy about the same time I did. The Patriot Guard was at his funeral 2 weeks ago lining the street in front of the funeral home with American Flags.

They presented Jane with a Navy flag and of course the American Legion presented her with an American Flag "From a grateful Nation"!

God Bless America!

[Master Oil Racing Team]

I have never been to a funeral like Colton's before, and I be 95% of the people or more there had not either. The Patriot Guards were there, but thankfully the hatemongers were not. There was also a motorcycle escort parked in front for an escort to the cemetary 20 miles away. There were about 60 bikes, most of whom I think were veterans.

There were no churches big enough in Orange Grove, and it turned that that the River Hills Church at Calallen on the outskirts of Corpus Christi was not either. American flgs lined both sides of Highway 624 for about a half a mile east of Orange Grove. Debbie and I got there an hour before the services were to start. We were too late. The main section of the church had already filled up as well as the back section and all the little side rooms in the main building. We were fortunate enough to get there while the overflow section of the adjacent building was filling up. After that, they put people in another building in the back. The overflow where we were held about 200 people, and more were standing around the edges and in the hallways. Andrew left about 20 minutes after we did and he had to stand outside. I asked him how many were out there and he said about two hundred. All the parking lots were full. Cars were parked up and down 624 and in adjacent fields next to the church and a large grassy field across the highway.

There were probably 40 or 50 law enforcement people of every stripe. I don't know if any Texas Rangers were there, but there were Texas Department of Public Safety troopers, Nueces and Jim Wells county deputies, and probably sheriffs, Orange Grove Police, Corpus Christi Police( including the Captain), Robstown Police, and Alice Police. There were also Border Patrol, firefighters and many, many military. One of the refinery cranes was there in the back of the church hoisting a gigantic American flag, and there must have been two hundred flags planted all over the area.

The pastor had a good sermon, and several friends and family talked about Colton and some of the things they did. A guitarist and vocalist did several songs. A marine sargeant major gave an excellent talk off the cuff, and told of how marines and other military men and women have not died in vain from the way progress is slowly creeping into Afghanistan. This sargeant Major flew in from Camp Pendleton. Coltan was killed in what is considered the toughest area now in Afghanistan. He said the British tried to get it under control for six years before giving up and pulling out. He told the crowd that women there were considered less valuable than goats. The goats were allowed to go out of the compound during the day and forage. The women were not. They had to stay in the compound. Now, however, they have opened up a school for girls, and for the first time, they are getting an education. Fellow marines serving with Colton had told the family and Sargeant Major how Colton and his dog Eli had saved their lives on more than a few occassions by finding roadside bombs that they didn't know were there until Eli sniffed them out.

After the services, it was over a half hour before I got moving out of the parking lot and into the funeral procession. I was in the last batch to leave. There must have been a horrendous traffic jam back to Interstate 37 and US 77 because it took awhile to empty all the parking lots. The Church a couple of blocks down had about 200 people in the parking lot with lots of flags, and most of them with their hands over their hearts. It was like that the fifteen miles back to Orange Grove. At a lot of the intersections were people parked, some with flags, most with their hands over their hearts. This is all rural farmland and brush country. A lot of families came out of their houses to stand beside the highway and pay their respects as the funeral procession passed by. Traffic was backed up at the two major intersections, but most people were standing outside their cars watching. I could not see the front of the procession because the lead had formed up and left twenty five to thirty minutes before I did. Behind me I could see in one long curve section about two miles and I did not see the last car. I don't know how much further behind the last one was, but it was more than two miles. I estimated the hearse and familly with the motorcycle escort had to be six to eight miles ahead. It took about 35 minutes to cover the fifteen miles to Orange Grove because the traffic sometimes slowed, then started back up like in a big city traffic jam

Approaching Orange Grove, the roadside crowds were even more numerous. As we got into town there were people solid on both side, and hundreds of American flags. We had to make a left onto Highway 359. A block further on the right was the Orange Grove Volunteer Fire Department and a vacan lot next to it. There were firefighters and their engines from several cities and county fire fighting units, and well as emergency vehicles, and other police units. There must have been thirty or so. Then there were numerous veterans, with other vets or their own families. I snapped a few photos on the way. I would have liked to have taken my camera and openly recorded the event so in awe was I, but I was afraid some people might take it as disrespect.

I had to park in the bar ditch on 359 like a lot of others. The last of the cars stretch a half a mile o both sides back toward Orange Grove on highway 359. From where I parked, it was about a two mile walk down a county road to the cemetary. Cars lined both sides all the way down, then all over any parking area around the cemetary and side streets.

A group of about 80 veterans lined both sides of the pavement leading off the road to where two tents were erected at the gravesite. Each vet stood at attention with a flag. I later found out that this was a Fallen Hero's group from Austin. Off to one side were a number of army guys, some with dogs. Then there was an honor guard of Marines to perform part of the ceremony. A lot of active duty soldiers including Navy and Air Force were present in the crowd as well.

There were way too many people for me to get anywhere near close, and more and more were coming in. I found out that a lot of this crowd didn't go to the church, but came directly to the cemetary. It was total silence when I got there except for a couple of babies babbling, and it remained completely silent for about 15 or 20 minutes until the final part of the funeral procession gathered around. The vets with the flags then proceeded to march silently down the asphalt road, then as they got close to the tents, they broke left and right to encircle the crowd all the way around. The circle was about 70 yards in diameter. The pastor said a few words, then read Psalm 23. A guy in a kilt and scottish cap began to play Amazing Grace on the bagpipes. After the first verse, he began to walk slowly toward the edge of the circle where the Marine honor guard were. As he got further from the crowd he played softer, and the music faded until he got outside the circle and it quietly died away. The Marines then gave the 21 gun salute, followed by Taps on a bugle. The next ten minutes or so were completely silent. No one said a word, but I knew that the pallbearers had set their flowers on the casket after the flag had been removed, then a couple of Marines folded the flag to present it to the Mom Kathy I am guessing. I could not see any of this.

There were so many people there I did not even see my next door neighbors. It was hard to tell how many were involved completely because I never got in any place to see everyone at the same time, plus not everone went to the church, nor everyone to the gravesite. All in all though I estimate it to be somewhere around 2500 to 3000. God bless Darrell and Kathy Rusk and their other two sons, and all other family, and Rest In Peace Colton.

[Roy Hodges]

I have to say that you narrate an event so vividly, while reading it, I felt almost like I was there .Salutes to all those who attended .

[Master Oil Racing Team]

And I consider you were there Roy. While we were standing there waiting for everyone to arrive, there was a powerful presence. No one was figeting, there was no small talk, and without asking, I think all the others must have felt it too. I think it was something to do with all the hundreds of millions of prayers that have been bestowed upon our men and women in the armed services!........There were so many veterans there of the Viet Nam era that came to pay their respects, I can't tell you how sad I felt. They were there for a comrade and never did one mention the fact that they came home spit on, cussed, had stuff thrown on them. As people were leaving, all were shaking hands and thanking not only the active service member for their service to our country, but to the many veterans today that were there.

[miss argo]

A little over a week ago one of my son Andrew's friends was killed in an ambush in Afghanistan. He was one of six killed. He was hit in the head, neck and pelvis. Colton was a dog handler. His dog Eli refused to leave his side. The Marines had to get a rope around his neck and pull him away to recover Colton's body. His body arrived at Dover a few days ago.

While we don't live in Orange Grove, we call it "our" community. Our official address is in Sandia, but that is on the other side of the lake from where we live. We have many, many friends in Orange Grove. It is a small, tight knit community. The family has been overwhelmed with support to get through these times. Friends have been searching for the last couple of days within a 25 mile radius to find a church large enough for the funeral. Some people thought of the football stadium, but (and most agree) the family didn't want that. All over town are yellow and black ribbons. Yesterday two large refinery scoping cranes lifted gigantic American flags to half mast. One on the north side of town and the other on the south side. It's a small town so you can see both of them no matter where you are in town. They are somewhere around 40 by 60 feet or larger. It is such a devastating thing for a family to lose one so young and with such great promise. The family is trying to have Ike discharged from the Marines and sent to them so they will have a what Colton considered a loving member of his own family sent back to the ones he left behind. It may be at some point I ask members here to intervene with their congressman (congresswoman) to help Ike come home to Colton's parents.

our prayers also go out to his family, our son in law just returned from there