Vermonters laid another young hero to rest. I didn't know this lad, but he is military, and therefore, a brother. It happened where Ben Perez got shot up.
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage
TODAY'S HEADLINES
Wednesday, August 10, 2005 :
Vermont family mourns fallen Marine
About 100 family members and friends came to share more stories and say goodbye to Marine Lance Cpl. Adam Strain, who grew up in tiny Smartville, Calif., and had half his family in Vermont. Strain was the 17th serviceman with Vermont ties to die in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since the conflict began in March 2003.
The whole story.
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050810/NEWS01/508100311/1009
By Andy Netzel
Free Press Staff Writer
Karen Strain clutched the folded flag to her chest, grimacing. Her sobs cut through the near-silent room of mourners at a memorial service for her son, Marine Lance Cpl. Adam Strain, killed by an Iraqi sniper last week.
Another son, Steve Tomsic, and her husband, Robert Strain, held and comforted her at the service in Burlington's Veterans of Foreign Wars post. Barbara Wycliffe, Adam Strain's fiancee, sat nearby, squeezing Strain's dog tags, which hung around her neck. Her engagement ring glistened under the lights.
Strain, 20, was the 17th serviceman with Vermont ties to die in support of military operations in Iraq since the conflict began in March 2003. He was shot and killed Aug. 3 while patrolling on foot in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, an insurgent stronghold 70 miles west of Baghdad.
About 100 family members and friends came to share stories and say goodbye to Strain, who grew up in tiny Smartville, Calif. Half his family lives in Vermont.
Their stories told of a Marine who wanted to be in the military since he was a child, a man jolted by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a loving relative who was determined to instill confidence in a self-conscious cousin and a popular athlete who never cared about popularity.
"Adam was always able to make us feel better about ourselves," said Cheryl Grodan, his aunt. "I'll never forget the twinkle in his eye or that devilish grin that made me think that he just got away with something."
Strain's death was still sinking in for many.
Chad Parker, a cousin from Hyde Park, said he thought of it all as a nightmare. He found out about the death very early Thursday morning. He was still half asleep when told the news and fell back asleep. A short while later, he awoke again: "I thought I had a bad dream."
When he got up to tell someone about it, he finally realized it was not a dream.
"Even then, I kept thinking it was a mistake," Parker said. "Maybe they had the wrong guy."
Cousin Jenn Ploof, 19, shared her eulogy, an open letter she wrote to Strain after learning of his death.
"Today I found a picture of us," she said. "We were swinging on a hammock in Papa's back yard. I wish we could be back in that picture."
Behind her were pictures showing Strain throughout his life: He was a toddler with a doughnut box for a hat, a little boy curled in his father's arms, a teen standing near a horse. He was a baseball player kneeling for a photo and a high schooler at a formal dance with his sweetheart. He was a Marine at boot camp.
After the speeches, uniformed Marines presented the family with Strain's Purple Heart.
The crying of the grieving mother spread into the crowd. Other family members began to weep.
Before the service started, Karen Strain had whispered, "I can't do this." But she did. Later this week, she and her husband will put their son to rest.
Contact Andy Netzel at 660-1867 or [email protected].
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage
TODAY'S HEADLINES
Wednesday, August 10, 2005 :
Vermont family mourns fallen Marine
About 100 family members and friends came to share more stories and say goodbye to Marine Lance Cpl. Adam Strain, who grew up in tiny Smartville, Calif., and had half his family in Vermont. Strain was the 17th serviceman with Vermont ties to die in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom since the conflict began in March 2003.
The whole story.
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050810/NEWS01/508100311/1009
By Andy Netzel
Free Press Staff Writer
Karen Strain clutched the folded flag to her chest, grimacing. Her sobs cut through the near-silent room of mourners at a memorial service for her son, Marine Lance Cpl. Adam Strain, killed by an Iraqi sniper last week.
Another son, Steve Tomsic, and her husband, Robert Strain, held and comforted her at the service in Burlington's Veterans of Foreign Wars post. Barbara Wycliffe, Adam Strain's fiancee, sat nearby, squeezing Strain's dog tags, which hung around her neck. Her engagement ring glistened under the lights.
Strain, 20, was the 17th serviceman with Vermont ties to die in support of military operations in Iraq since the conflict began in March 2003. He was shot and killed Aug. 3 while patrolling on foot in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, an insurgent stronghold 70 miles west of Baghdad.
About 100 family members and friends came to share stories and say goodbye to Strain, who grew up in tiny Smartville, Calif. Half his family lives in Vermont.
Their stories told of a Marine who wanted to be in the military since he was a child, a man jolted by the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, a loving relative who was determined to instill confidence in a self-conscious cousin and a popular athlete who never cared about popularity.
"Adam was always able to make us feel better about ourselves," said Cheryl Grodan, his aunt. "I'll never forget the twinkle in his eye or that devilish grin that made me think that he just got away with something."
Strain's death was still sinking in for many.
Chad Parker, a cousin from Hyde Park, said he thought of it all as a nightmare. He found out about the death very early Thursday morning. He was still half asleep when told the news and fell back asleep. A short while later, he awoke again: "I thought I had a bad dream."
When he got up to tell someone about it, he finally realized it was not a dream.
"Even then, I kept thinking it was a mistake," Parker said. "Maybe they had the wrong guy."
Cousin Jenn Ploof, 19, shared her eulogy, an open letter she wrote to Strain after learning of his death.
"Today I found a picture of us," she said. "We were swinging on a hammock in Papa's back yard. I wish we could be back in that picture."
Behind her were pictures showing Strain throughout his life: He was a toddler with a doughnut box for a hat, a little boy curled in his father's arms, a teen standing near a horse. He was a baseball player kneeling for a photo and a high schooler at a formal dance with his sweetheart. He was a Marine at boot camp.
After the speeches, uniformed Marines presented the family with Strain's Purple Heart.
The crying of the grieving mother spread into the crowd. Other family members began to weep.
Before the service started, Karen Strain had whispered, "I can't do this." But she did. Later this week, she and her husband will put their son to rest.
Contact Andy Netzel at 660-1867 or [email protected].
