Sgt. Kelley Courtney (KIA)

(reprinted from the Macon Telegraph, November 15, 2004)

Macon Marine laid to rest

Hundreds turned out Sunday to mourn the death of Marine Sgt. Kelley Courtney, whose long funeral procession was met by residents waving flags and holding up hand-lettered signs reading, "God Bless America." Strangers stood at the end of dirt roads and filed into Mabel White Memorial Baptist Church to show their gratitude to the Macon resident one pastor called "an American hero."

Courtney, a counter-intelligence soldier with the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force, was one of six Marines killed Oct. 30 by a car bomb when returning from a mission outside Fallujah, Iraq. Married to his childhood sweetheart, the father of two was 28 years old.

Courtney was awarded a Purple Heart and the Combat Active Ribbon after his death. He also received the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the National Defense Medal and the Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation.

Courtney and his brother Donny joined the Marines together in 1998 and grew closer as a result.

At Sunday's service, Sgt. Donny Courtney shared a message he sent to his brother's e-mail account after Kelley's death.

"You always stood up for me and took the blame for things I did," Donny wrote. "Once again you stood up for me. You stood up for your country. You took the blame once again."

Donny Courtney said he was troubled at first that the last e-mail he received from Kelley contained no obvious final goodbye, as did messages to Cindy, Kelley's parents and his brother Joey Fernandez. Kelley's last message simply said he'd tell Donny about his mission in a week, ending with the word, "Later."

But after much thought, Donny Courtney decided those few sentences did have a deeper meaning. "He taught me his final lesson, like the big brother he was," Donny said. "He taught me not to be afraid of dying."

Donny explained: Several years before, Kelley had stopped his brother from saying goodbye at the end of a phone conversation. "Goodbye is forever," he told Donny. "Say, 'Later.' "

Donny now sees Kelley's final e-mail as a promise: Donny will hear about his brother's final mission when they meet again after death.

"Now, I'm looking forward to hearing Kelley's stories," Donny Courtney said. "I love you, Kelley. Semper fidelis. Later."

Six pastors participated in the funeral, with the Rev. Bob Veazey of Grace Community Church recalling Courtney as a man who loved to laugh and noting that Courtney's 1-year-old son, Logan, already has his daddy's grin.

Courtney adored his wife and children so much he dreamed of building them a stone castle, Veazey told mourners Sunday. A Christian who became more devout after joining the military, Courtney asked searching questions about religion and war.

"Kelley believed in peace," Veazey said. "He was a warrior. But good warriors, like King David ... are men of peace."

U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Ga., spoke about Courtney's service, quoting Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Marshall noted that this was the fourth funeral he has attended for Middle Georgia servicemen who died in Iraq, and he predicted more.

But Marshall seemed to reproach those who question current war strategy. "If perfect leaders ... and perfect soldiers are required before we act, we will never act in our own defense," he said. "We will prevail so long as the American people remain patient, strong and resolved."

The Rev. David Franklin of Mabel White told Courtney's family that Kelley had left them a message about how to live without him: A cross carved with a chainsaw that stands in his parents' back yard, surrounded by a ring of wooden stumps, one for each disciple.

"He carved a cross as the most definitive statement of his life," Franklin said.

The funeral procession briefly closed entrances to Interstate 75 as it made its way to Glen Haven Memorial Gardens on Houston Road. There, veterans and active servicemen from all military branches ringed the grave as a 21-gun salute echoed behind them. A sailor and a Marine lifted an American flag from Courtney's coffin and held it hovering above, their arms outstretched like wings, while "Taps" played.

Cindy Courtney remained composed as she received the folded flag and Charles Bishop, incoming chairman of the Bibb County Commission, presented her with a plaque marking Sunday as a day of remembrance for Kelley Courtney.

Cindy Courtney last saw her husband Aug. 20, when he was deployed to Iraq from Okinawa, Japan, on their fifth wedding anniversary.

In an interview Thursday, the 26-year-old Cindy Courtney remembered how tough Kelley was. Cindy said after he completed gruelling counter-intelligence training, he was considering re-enlisting - despite physical problems that had required knee and throat surgery.

Cindy recalls Kelley used to tell her how to respond if anything happened to him: Focus on the children, stay in school and remember he loved them.

Then came the news of Marines killed in a car bombing at a time Cindy knew her husband should have been returning from his mission. When he didn't e-mail, she kept asking friends, "How will I know if it was him?"

It took until the middle of Sunday night in Okinawa for Cindy's question to be answered by a dreaded knock at her door and two Marines standing there.

The Courtneys' 4-year-old daughter Kellie Marie is just beginning to understand what happened, Cindy Courtney said. "I let her know that he was a hero and that he's going to live through us," she said.

"He was a big kid at heart," said Cindy, who developed a crush on the always-joking Kelley when she was 8 and married him in 1999.

"I saw him as a boy and have seen him grow into a man. I'm very proud of him," she said. "I hope he knew that."