Hundreds attend rites for Marine who died in Iraq

By Cheri Carlson, ccarlson@VenturaCountyStar.com
November 23, 2004

Dressed in military fatigues, 10-year-old Jackson Anderson tugged his cap down over his eyes Monday as he followed his big brother's casket into church.

For Halloween he had dressed up as a Marine in honor of his brother, Lance Cpl. Nicholas H. Anderson, who was serving in Iraq.

Twelve days later, Nicholas Anderson died near Mahmudiyah, a town about 15 miles south of Baghdad, when his Humvee rolled over during a nighttime combat patrol.

On Monday, his younger brother put on his Halloween costume again. This time, to say goodbye.

Jackson and his family were joined at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Ventura by hundreds of mourners, dozens of whom followed the family to Ivy Lawn Memorial Park, where the 19-year-old Marine was buried with full military honors.

His mother, Eleanor, and her husband, George Dachtler, traveled from Las Vegas to be at the service. They sat in the front of the church near Anderson's father, Al, his wife, Lisa, and Jackson Anderson, from Ventura.

Nicholas Anderson was awarded the Purple Heart, an honor his aunt Brenda Smith said would have made him proud.

"I think Nick might have been a little embarrassed by all the attention," she said with a smile. But having his fellow Marines honor him -- "That's extremely special."

Some of those Marines' wives attended the service and read letters their husbands had sent from Iraq.

Gunnery Sgt. Dennis Collins wrote about Anderson's bravery, saying he always took the most dangerous missions and stood tall behind the machine gun he operated. "And you could always look to Nick for a smile," his wife, Gina Collins, read aloud in the church.

She talked about Anderson working in schools in Iraq and how he loved handing out candy and soccer balls to the children. Her voice stretched thin with emotion as she read her husband's words: "Nick did not die alone. He was with 54 of his brothers who loved him very much."

Other speakers talked about Anderson growing up and his love of the water, his family -- especially his little brother -- and his fiancee.

Mandy Barnicoat, who is stationed with the Air Force in Japan, got permission to be at her fiance's funeral with help from Rep. Elton Gallegly, R-Simi Valley.

A letter written by Barnicoat to Anderson was read aloud Monday, and it touched Simon Camarillo, who served with the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, in Vietnam.

He didn't know Anderson or Barnicoat but said he felt called to honor a brother in service.

"I've been there. I know what it's like," he said. "It's a tragedy that this young man had to die for his country, but I think he was well represented here."

The question of where to bury Anderson -- Ventura, the home of his father, or Las Vegas, the home of his mother -- was settled by military officials. Officials turned Anderson's body over to his father, based on a Marine Corps regulation that grants custody to the older parent.

As mourners began leaving the cemetery, Jackson stood next to his brother's grave, hugging a folded American flag to his chest.

Several yards away, Smith talked about her nephew and how family and friends will remember him.

"A laughing, happy-go-lucky kid who would do anything for anyone," she said.

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