A good friend had died in combat along the way. A roadside bomb had narrowly missed his convoy in August. The service of freedom, he wrote, demanded sacrifice.

No worries. I will be fine wherever I end up. I have the Lord on my side and guardian angels on both shoulders.

I am good to go.

Family members and friends sat and stood shoulder-to-shoulder in a white country church yesterday to share tears, and a few laughs, in a farewell to Anderson.

The flag-graced casket of the 22-year-old, who dreamed of becoming a Marine from age 10, then was borne by six brothers-in-arms to his resting place in the church cemetery, 45 miles northeast of Columbus.

Anderson, of nearby Howard, was killed Nov. 12 while his unit fought insurgents in Al Anbar province. He was the 42nd Ohioan to die during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

North Bend Church of the Brethren strained to hold the 400 mourners, from aging veterans in dated uniforms to friends who graduated with Anderson in 2001 from East Knox High School.

They had come, said the Rev. Patrick Bailey, to "honor a great son, an awesome brother, a great friend, a fellow soldier and hero.''

Standing at the pulpit near a gold-framed portrait of their brother, Anderson's sisters spoke of their love for him.

Her eyes bathed in tears and badge swathed in black, Columbus Police Officer Traci Shaw described her brother as "soaring on wings like eagles.

"I salute you, my brother. I salute your life. I salute the way you lived. I salute your sacrifice. I will always be in your debt.''

Sister Meg Anderson, of Westlake, remembered a "happy and good-spirited'' kid who loved to swim, make mud pies and ride the roller coasters at Cedar Point.

The funeral was punctuated with the thundering bass drum, rolling snares and soaring bagpipes of the Columbus Police & Fire Pipes & Drums' rendition of Amazing Grace.

Mourners filed from the church to the cemetery through a steady, light rain as Anderson's casket was carried to its place beneath a blue canopy.

Two Marine sergeants with crisp ceremony folded the damp American flag from the casket for presentation to his mother, Mary Shaw, who hugged the triangle to her heart.

Many recoiled at the first report as seven Marines fired rifles three times. A lone bugler followed with taps. Most mourners finished their goodbyes with a brief caress of the wood of the casket beneath the canopy. Anderson was not buried alone.

Soon after he was killed, a former leatherneck showed up on Kelly Dallas' doorstep to leave a tribute for her brother.

The old Marine's medals were buried with Anderson atop the soggy hilltop.