PFC Ryan Cantafio, U.S.M.C. (KIA)

Associated Press
BEAVER DAM, Wis. - Amanda Cantafio says that, when she last saw her husband as he was getting on a plane with his Marine Reserve unit, she told him she could not live without him.

"I never thought I would have to," she said Thursday in remarks read by a family friend at the funeral for Ryan Cantafio, who died Thanksgiving Day in Iraq.

His Humvee hit in a remote-controlled roadside bomb shortly after he had been promoted to lance corporal.

Photo collages inside Grace Presbyterian Church showed a grinning Cantafio clad in his crisp Marine uniform with his arms around his wife, photos taken on their wedding day last year, Cantafio hugging family members and a cake that featured a photo of a Marine in frosting.

Cantafio was a member of Madison-based Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment.

In a message read at the funeral, the commander of his battalion, Lt. Col. Mark Smith, said the unit held a memorial service Nov. 27 for their fallen comrade.

At the service in Iraq, "tough as nails" Marines were brought to tears as they spoke about Cantafio and how much they will miss him, Smith said.

Burial was at Oakwood Cemetery, where a Marine honor guard fired a 21-gun salute.

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