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In Memoriam |
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In Memoriam |
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PFC Christopher Dixon
Friends and family remembered Christopher R. Dixon as an urban wild man: a Wal-Mart cowboy, a handsome girl-magnet and a daredevil full of courage and adventure.
But yesterday their personal pain spread throughout the Obetz community that deeply mourned the loss of its fallen son, a private first class in the Marines, who died May 11 in Iraq. He was 18.
A handful of folks waving and saluting Dixon's hearse grew into hundreds standing along the route to the cemetery. Many held American flags, some wore patriotic T-shirts and others stood under a banner bearing Dixon's picture and words that reflected what they felt: "Forever in our hearts.''
It was a homecoming for the boy who used to pop wheelies on his bicycle and show off bowling tricks at Rainbow Lanes on S. High Street. He worked at the alley before joining the Marines.
Men stood outside holding their baseball caps close to their chests, girls carried signs saying, "thank you Christopher Dixon,'' and firefighters and police officers solemnly stood in uniform saluting the boy who graduated from Hamilton Township High School only last year.
Children shouted "God bless the troops!'' from school buses.
The city's marquee read "Obetz grieves with the Dixon family.''
Hundreds gathered at Obetz Cemetery, where U.S. flags sprouted like flowers around Dixon's plot.
Taps was faintly heard among the sniffles and sobs of mourners. The crowd grew silent as Dixon's parents, David and Beckie Dixon, were each presented with a somber reminder of their son's valor and sacrifice.
Mr. Dixon accepted a Purple Heart for injuries his son suffered when his vehicle hit a mine in Karabilah in western Iraq. Five members of his Columbus Marine reserve unit, L Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Regiment, were killed that week.
Mrs. Dixon received the flag that draped her son's casket during his funeral at Good Shepherd Community Church on Obetz Road. Mourners packed into pews, lined the walls, and sat and stood on the staircases.
While Dixon's death at such a young age is devastating, he did not waste his youth and died living his dream of protecting his country as a Marine, the Rev. William L. Snider said.
"He gave his best for what he believed in,'' Snider said at the church. "He gave his best for the best.''
Allen Lantrip, 17, said Dixon was among the best the town had to offer. He was one of the first people to welcome Lantrip to Hamilton Township High last year. The two talked before Dixon departed.
"He was in a good mood,'' Lantrip said. "He was optimistic about going on the mission and coming home safe.''
The possibility of not coming home didn't worry Dixon, said Jordan Wall, 15. She had known him for seven years. He lived one street over from her.
"He wasn't scared at all, he was really happy to be going,'' said Wall, a sophomore at the high school, where counselors printed pictures of Dixon last week to help students deal with their grief.
"He was always trying to help somebody, and he knew he would be helping people in the Marines serving his country,'' Wall said.
Dixon's death was a blow to the small, tightly connected community, said Jim Kirk, 56, a clerk at Obetz Hardware. He took a 15-minute break to watch the procession as it passed.
"It's kind of a shock for everybody,'' he said. "People that didn't know him know someone who did.''
Contributions can be sent to the Scholarship Fund for Chris Dixon at Hamilton Township High School, 4999 Lockbourne Rd., Columbus, Ohio 43207.