Marine returns home
Marine returns home
By Brian Livingston / staff Writer
Meridian, Mississippi
— Anyone traveling south Friday morning on Highway 11 and Highway 513 may have thought it was the Fourth of July.
American flags were flying in a slight spring wind but a closer look at the people sitting by the road holding small flags of their own revealed the real reason they had gathered.
Shortly after 9 a.m. Friday, a small Falcon jet touched down at Key Field in Meridian carrying the body of U.S. Marine Cpl. Dustin Jerome Lee. Inside the terminal, family and close friends waited as the flag-draped coffin was respectfully placed in the back of a waiting hearse. From there, a procession led by troopers of the Mississippi Highway Patrol made their way through Enterprise and Stonewall until it finally stopped in Quitman at about 10:45 a.m. All along the route, men and women, young and old, stood beside the roadways showing their respects to the 20-year old Marine who was killed in combat last week in Fallujah, Iraq and to his family following in three limousines.
“This is a sad day,” said Korean War veteran Johnny Pugh of Quitman as he waited in Stonewall for the procession to pass. “I’ve seen a lot of death, surviving the retreat from the Chosin Reservoir in 1950. I’ve seen my share of young men who’ve died. I knew the family. It’s just a sad day.”
In Quitman, where the body was brought for the visitation that started at 3 p.m. Friday, some of the people lining the streets just couldn’t contain their emotions as an 18-wheeler, one of many joining the tribute, drove ahead of the hearse with Lee’s pickup truck and dirt bike displayed on a flat bed trailer. As the family vehicles passed, sobs could be heard. It was a somber day.
Hope Herrington of the Elwood community west of Quitman, also knew the family well. She, dressed in a red, white and blue striped shirt and holding an American flag, tried to fight back the sorrow but lost the battle.
“I went to school with Dustin’s mom, Rachel,” Herrington said. “I think this is a day of reflection. It is also wonderful to see this outpouring of support for the Lee family. We should show this kind of support for all of our troops both alive and those who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice.”
Lee is the third Clarke County servicemember to die since the Iraq War began and the 52nd servicemember with strong Mississippi ties to give their life during the now four-year old conflict.
Sherry Tucker, whose son served in the Gulf War in 1991, remembers the agony of having a loved one always in harm’s way.
“My son came back,” she said. “This is sad that young men and women have to die in war. But sometimes wars are fought and it is the young who have to fight them.”
The motorcade stopped for a short time at Wright’s Funeral Home in Quitman and then later carried Lee’s body to the First Baptist Church for the six-hour visitation. Church services for Lee will begin this morning at 10 a.m. with the graveside service to follow.
By Brian Livingston / staff Writer
Meridian, Mississippi
— Anyone traveling south Friday morning on Highway 11 and Highway 513 may have thought it was the Fourth of July.
American flags were flying in a slight spring wind but a closer look at the people sitting by the road holding small flags of their own revealed the real reason they had gathered.
Shortly after 9 a.m. Friday, a small Falcon jet touched down at Key Field in Meridian carrying the body of U.S. Marine Cpl. Dustin Jerome Lee. Inside the terminal, family and close friends waited as the flag-draped coffin was respectfully placed in the back of a waiting hearse. From there, a procession led by troopers of the Mississippi Highway Patrol made their way through Enterprise and Stonewall until it finally stopped in Quitman at about 10:45 a.m. All along the route, men and women, young and old, stood beside the roadways showing their respects to the 20-year old Marine who was killed in combat last week in Fallujah, Iraq and to his family following in three limousines.
“This is a sad day,” said Korean War veteran Johnny Pugh of Quitman as he waited in Stonewall for the procession to pass. “I’ve seen a lot of death, surviving the retreat from the Chosin Reservoir in 1950. I’ve seen my share of young men who’ve died. I knew the family. It’s just a sad day.”
In Quitman, where the body was brought for the visitation that started at 3 p.m. Friday, some of the people lining the streets just couldn’t contain their emotions as an 18-wheeler, one of many joining the tribute, drove ahead of the hearse with Lee’s pickup truck and dirt bike displayed on a flat bed trailer. As the family vehicles passed, sobs could be heard. It was a somber day.
Hope Herrington of the Elwood community west of Quitman, also knew the family well. She, dressed in a red, white and blue striped shirt and holding an American flag, tried to fight back the sorrow but lost the battle.
“I went to school with Dustin’s mom, Rachel,” Herrington said. “I think this is a day of reflection. It is also wonderful to see this outpouring of support for the Lee family. We should show this kind of support for all of our troops both alive and those who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice.”
Lee is the third Clarke County servicemember to die since the Iraq War began and the 52nd servicemember with strong Mississippi ties to give their life during the now four-year old conflict.
Sherry Tucker, whose son served in the Gulf War in 1991, remembers the agony of having a loved one always in harm’s way.
“My son came back,” she said. “This is sad that young men and women have to die in war. But sometimes wars are fought and it is the young who have to fight them.”
The motorcade stopped for a short time at Wright’s Funeral Home in Quitman and then later carried Lee’s body to the First Baptist Church for the six-hour visitation. Church services for Lee will begin this morning at 10 a.m. with the graveside service to follow.
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