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Brave soldiers
inscribed in hearts
of loved ones
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Whitney Wilson wears a silver dog tag inscribed with the words "Always in my heart forever and always my one and only."
The name of Jeremy Daniel Bow, and his birth date, May 19, 1984, are also inscribed on the metal. "Our Hero," it says.
It is a precious belonging for Wilson, whose boyfriend, Bow, 20, was killed Oct. 30 when a suicide car bomber in Iraq struck his convoy.
And she wore it yesterday during a special service of remembrance for 10 Kaneohe Marines who have died since their unit left the islands in July.
The service, held in the Kaneohe Bay Marine Corps Base movie theater, was full. Marines crowded the aisles and the theater's lobby, many unable to get inside.
Ten M-16 rifles, topped with desert camouflage Kevlar helmet and combat boots, were placed on the stage -- each decorated with an orchid lei. There were photographs of nine members of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment.
"Today, our enemy is terrorism, and we will be as successful against this enemy as we have been against all other evils that have threatened our nation and our way of life," Patterson said.
Lance Cpl. Bow was one of eight Marines killed by a suicide car bomber Oct. 30. And the emotional ceremony honored him, Lance Cpl. Michael P. Scarborough, Lance Cpl. Travis A. Fox, Cpl. Christopher J. Lapka, Lance Cpl. John T. Byrd II, Pfc. Andrew G. Riedel and Pfc. John Lukac, all from the mainland. Also remembered was Sgt. Kelley Courtney, who was a member of the 3rd Intelligence Battalion on Okinawa but assigned to the Hawaii unit in Iraq.
Two other Kaneohe Marines were remembered in the service. Lance Cpl. Richard P. Slocum was killed Oct. 24 in a noncombat accident near Abu Ghraib when his Humvee rolled over.
Pfc. Dennis Mitchell died of heat exhaustion while training in Okinawa before the unit left for Iraq.
Wilson, who met Bow seven months ago, was one of a handful of civilians at the service, among several hundred Marines and a few sailors.
After the 45-minute service, Wilson, her sister and friends stopped before Bow's photograph. His family in California "is having a hard time accepting his death," she said.
It was her sister who called her with the bad news.
"She was crying," Wilson said. "'There's been an accident. He didn't make it.'"
A day before his death, Wilson talked to Bow on the phone. "He had just come back from a mission. He said there were a lot of phones there, so he would be calling a lot. He said he was going to be fine. He was doing OK."
Whitney Wilson, touching the photo of her boyfriend, Lance Cpl. Jeremy Bow, was among those yesterday honoring isle Marines killed in Iraq.
"They were outstanding Marines," Avelar said.
Avelar recalled "it was really hot" when he was in Bahrain with Lapka.
"Every once in a while, we would go to the pool for PT (physical training). I (didn't) know Cpl. Lapka was part fish. He would be on his fifth lap, and the closest one would only be on their second lap."
Scarborough, who was 25 and likely the oldest member in his company, "never complained even though his team leader, squad leader or platoon commander were younger than him," Avelar said.
"It's a shame. It's a shame that this had to happen. Although they are gone, they will forever live through us ... and never will they be forgotten, for once a Marine, always a Marine," Avelar said in his eulogy.
The memorial left many of those present thinking about the war in Iraq.
Tammie Deener, whose husband, Navy Chief Petty Officer Gene Deener, left yesterday for Afghanistan, said the toll in Iraq "actually motivates us to work harder. ... Everyone is closer together because it's closer to home."
Mona Gatto, whose husband, Sgt. Michael Gatto, has been in Afghanistan for six months, said the service was "a honorable way to honor them.
"It puts everything in a different perspective. ... Life is so short, but these Marines didn't die in vain."
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