Honor050506

Cpl Brandon M. Hardy

Daily Local News (Philadelphia PA area)

THOMAS McKEE, Staff Writer 05/02/2006

Hardy’s mother, Jill, remembers how, as a young boy, his eyes were glued to the television set during Desert Storm, captivated by the images of the U.S. military. It was then, Jill Hardy said, that Brandon Hardy decided to dedicate his life to serving his country.

Fifteen years later, he has done just that.

Hardy, 25, of Cochranville, was killed last week while patrolling against enemy forces in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. He had been stationed 390 kilometers northwest of Baghdad, in the Haditha Dam area. Hardy served as an amphibious assault crewman and had been promoted to corporal on April 1.

"I cannot stress emphatically enough how much Brandon loved serving his country," Jill Hardy said, noting that despite the dangers, Brandon never wavered one bit in pursuing that childhood goal.

Since graduating from Octorara High School in 1999, Hardy served his country -- first in the Air Force, then in the Marines. He enlisted in the Air Force during his senior year and left home a month after graduation to begin his service.

After five years in the Air Force, including three deployments to the Middle East, and time stationed in Germany and Spokane, Wash., he decided to enlist in the Marines instead, so that "he could be doing what he wanted to be doing in Iraq," Jill Hardy said.

"He started over at the bottom and gave up his seniority and took a cut in pay," Jill Hardy said. "But he took it more seriously then anyone I’ve ever known."

Brandon Hardy was a family-oriented "country boy" who liked hunting and fishing, his mother said. He listened to country music and liked wearing cowboy hats and boots. He enjoyed sports, especially Penn State football and baseball, which he played at Octorara.

He was a Christian, worshipping at Community Bible Fellowship in Oxford, his mother said.

It was at church that he met his fiancee, Samantha DiGrazio, 23, of Nottingham -- although he had no idea at the time she was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

"We met nine or 10 years ago at church," DiGrazio said. "We were younger and I had a big crush on him, but I didn’t talk to him. I got his address when he went to the Air Force and started writing him. We became pen pals for six or seven years."

Then one day, Hardy surprised her, arriving on her doorstep with flowers. DiGrazio was so shocked, she said, she slammed the door in his face.

"My mom actually had to come out and get him," she said. "That was the joke for a while -- he finally brought me flowers and I slammed the door in his face!"

DiGrazio said her relationship with Hardy really took off after she got a new cell phone, and sent the number out in an e-mail to all her friends.

One day Hardy called, and from there the two began talking on a daily basis. He invited her to a Marine Corps ball in California and she flew there to attend.

"That’s when we first kissed," she said. "That’s when we fell in love and realized we wanted to be together forever."

Hardy surprised her by coming home for Christmas this year, and in February, just before he was to leave for Iraq, the two became engaged.

"My family always thought he was very honest," DiGrazio said. "He always let you know where you stood with him and how he was feeling about something. He didn’t hold anything back. They loved him. They already considered him a son."

For DiGrazio and the rest of Hardy’s family -- he is survived by his parents, Warren and Jill; two sisters, Kristin and Keri; and a brother, Chad -- there is a tremendous sense of pride in the way he chose to live his life, accompanied with the requisite grief caused by the death of a loved one.

Jill Hardy’s voice cracked with emotion and pride as she read aloud an e-mail the family recently received from her son’s platoon leader.

"‘Your son is a hero,’" Jill Hardy read. "‘He was one of the bravest and hardest-working Marines in my platoon. ..Brandon was a talented war fighter, but more importantly, he was a proven leader. You have now gained 50 more sons. Chad, Kristin and Keri have gained 50 more brothers. Samantha has gained 50 more friends.’"

"As a parent, our hearts are aching, but they’re bursting with pride as well," Jill Hardy said. "We couldn’t be more proud of Brandon. I know he died doing what he felt God called him to do. And he did it above and beyond his abilities."

Funeral services for Cpl. Brandon Hardy were held on Friday, May 5, at 10 a.m. at the Calvary Monument Bible Church, with Pastor Tony Jackson presiding. Interment was at the adjoining cemetery.

Photos included with story: (click on photo to enlarge)

Marines and sailors of the Hawaii-based 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, shuffled into a makeshift cafeteria in Haditha, Iraq, to attend a memorial service April 30, 2006, for four Marines who died recently due to combat operations in western Al Anbar Province, Iraq. A set of dog tags, combat boots, rifles and Kevlar helmets represented each Marine who died. Among those memorialized were: Sgt. Edward G. Davis, 31, of Waukegan, Ill.; Sgt. Lea R. Mills, 21, of Brooksville, Fla.; and Cpl. Brandon M. Hardy, 25, of Cochranville, Pa.; and Cpl. Eric R. Lueken, 23, of Jasper, Ind. Mills, Hardy, and Davis, all assigned to the Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, were killed April 28, 2006, when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device. Lueken, assigned to the Hawaii-based 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, was also killed by an IED, April 22, 2006. During the memorial, individual eulogies were read for each fallen warrior by Marines who served with them. Photo by: Cpl. Justin L. Schaeffer

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Marines and sailors of the Hawaii-based 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, in Haditha, Iraq, attended a memorial service April 30, 2006, for four Marines who died recently due to combat operations in western Al Anbar Province, Iraq. A set of dog tags, combat boots, rifles and Kevlar helmets represented each Marine who died. Among those memorialized were: Sgt. Edward G. Davis, 31, of Waukegan, Ill.; Sgt. Lea R. Mills, 21, of Brooksville, Fla.; and Cpl. Brandon M. Hardy, 25, of Cochranville, Pa.; and Cpl. Eric R. Lueken, 23, of Jasper, Ind. Mills, Hardy, and Davis, all assigned to the Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, were killed April 28, 2006, when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device. Lueken, assigned to the Hawaii-based 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, was also killed by an IED, April 22, 2006. During the memorial, individual eulogies were read for each fallen warrior by Marines who served with them. Photo by: Cpl. Justin L. Schaeffer

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Marines and sailors of the Hawaii-based 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, shuffled into a makeshift cafeteria in Haditha, Iraq, to attend a memorial service April 30, 2006, for four Marines who died recently due to combat operations in western Al Anbar Province, Iraq. A set of dog tags, combat boots, rifles and Kevlar helmets represented each Marine who died. Here, a Marine pays final respects to one of the fallen warriors at the end of the ceremony. Among those memorialized were: Sgt. Edward G. Davis, 31, of Waukegan, Ill.; Sgt. Lea R. Mills, 21, of Brooksville, Fla.; and Cpl. Brandon M. Hardy, 25, of Cochranville, Pa.; and Cpl. Eric R. Lueken, 23, of Jasper, Ind. Mills, Hardy, and Davis, all assigned to the Camp Pendleton, Calif.-based 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, were killed April 28, 2006, when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device. Lueken, assigned to the Hawaii-based 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, was also killed by an IED, April 22, 2006. During the memorial, individual eulogies were read for each fallen warrior by Marines who served with them. Photo by: Cpl. Justin L. Schaeffer

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Hawaii-based Marines honor four fallen in Iraq

Submitted by: 1st Marine Division

From Marine Corps News

Story by Sgt. Roe F. Seigle

HADITHA, Iraq (May 5, 2006) -- A Marine sat on a collapsible metal chair with several other warriors seated around him and stared at four sets of dog tags, combat boots, rifles and Kevlar helmets.

Tears welled up in his eyes as he slowly let his head drop into his hands. The tears fell, splashing the concrete floor.

This Marine is one of hundreds from the Hawaii-based 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment who are still mourning the loss of Staff Sgt. Jason C. Ramseyer, who was killed two weeks ago in an explosion from an improvised explosive device.

IEDs – roadside bombs used by insurgents in Iraq to target Coalition and Iraqi Forces – are the number one killer of U.S. troops in Iraq, according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count – an organization which tallies U.S. and coalition casualties based off Department of Defense press releases.

In a solemn ceremony at the Marines forward operating base here April 30, the Marines honored four more of their own killed recently during combat operations in Al Anbar Province. Among the deceased are: Sgt. Edward G. Davis, 31, of Waukegan, Ill.; Sgt Lea R. Mills, 21, of Brooksville, Fla.; and Cpl. Brandon M. Hardy, 25, of Cochranville, Pa.; who were killed April 28, 2006, when their vehicle struck and IED.

Cpl. Eric R. Lueken, 23, of Jasper, Ind., was also killed by an IED April 22, 2006.

Davis, Mills and Hardy were assigned to the Camp Pendleton, Calif. – based 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion and were attached to 3/3 for duty. Lueken was assigned to 3/3.

Individual eulogies were read for each of the fallen service members by Marines who served with them.

Many of the Marines sat stone faced and tried to hide their emotions as they reflected on the fallen’s lives.

“These Marines are not heroes because of how they died,” said 2nd Lt. Rajesh Mistry. “They are heroes because of how they lived.”

Some Marines could only offer a few words to describe their fallen comrades.

“Lueken was the kind of guy you could go to and tell how bad your day was and he would make it better,” said Cpl. William Harrison. “It was still registering to me that he is no longer with us.”

Sgt. Jim Coelho, 3rd Assault Amphibious Battalion, worked very closely with Davis, Mills and Hardy.

“The Marines are not laughing and joking with each other like they usually do,” said Coelho. “We were all close; we were all brothers.”

Gunnery Sgt. Jeff Duncan was the platoon sergeant for Davis, Mills and Hardy, and recalled characteristics of each one.

“Each one of them had something different to offer the company,” said Duncan. “Davis we called ‘Manimal’ because he was always lifting weights. Mills could fix practically anything, and Hardy was a good leader who knew his job well.”

Duncan said Davis, who would have been promoted May 1, will be posthumously promoted to staff sergeant.

During the memorial, Navy Lt. Paul Tremblay led the singing of a hymn called “Eternal Father, Strong to Save” -

“Eternal Father strong to save,

Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,

Who bids the mighty ocean deep,

Its own appointed limits keep,

O hear us when we cry to thee,

For those in peril on the sea.

“Eternal Father grant we pray,

To all Marines both night and day,

The courage honor strength and skill,

Their land to serve the law fulfill,

Be thou the shield forevermore,

From every Peril to the Corps.”

After the playing of “Taps,” the Marines paid final respects to the fallen and left the makeshift chapel the same way they shuffled in – with solemn faces.

The battalion is scheduled to return to the United States later this Fall.

Marine killed in Iraq is mourned

Hundreds honor Corporal from Southern Indiana

Honored: A Marine Corps honor guard carried the casket of Marine Cpl. Eric Lueken down the steps of St. Raphael Catholic Church in Dubois and to the church's cemetery for burial Saturday. - BOB GWALTNEY / Evansville Courier & Press

DUBOIS, Ind. -- Hundreds of people stood along the winding country roads of Southern Indiana to pay respects to a 23-year-old Marine who was killed in Iraq.

People, many waving American flags, gathered on front lawns at the mouths of lanes to watch as the funeral procession for Cpl. Eric Lueken rolled by along the 16-mile route after a service Saturday morning.

Ladder firetrucks suspended a gigantic flag overhead just south of the Patoka River bridge, and veterans dressed in uniform saluted as the procession passed American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts in Jasper.

More than 800 people attended the funeral Mass at St. Raphael Catholic Church in Dubois.

Lueken died after he was wounded by an improvised device while patrolling in a convoy in Iraq's Anbar province April 22, military officials said. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

Lueken, a 2001 graduate of Northeast Dubois High School, had served in Afghanistan and left March 11 for a seven-month tour in Iraq, family members said.

The Rev. John Brosmer recalled how Lueken tried to be "the best Marine he could be" and keep family and friends central to his life.

"He was on a mission," Brosmer said.

2006 IndyStar