In Memoriam

Farewell, comrade: 200 mourn Pfc. Steven Freund, killed in Iraq

Tuesday, June 13, 2006

By Gary Rotstein, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Inside Nativity Catholic Church in South Park, Marine Corps Pfc. Steven Freund was described as a dutiful young man willing to sacrifice for his country.

After his burial at Jefferson Memorial Park, former classmates from Thomas Jefferson High School recalled a friend who sounded far different when younger: fun-loving but lacking purpose or stability until joining the military.

Pfc. Freund's path from troubled teenager to solid adult soldier ended May 23 with the explosion of a roadside bomb in Iraq. The 20-year-old Pleasant Hills native and another Marine riding in a Humvee died in the incident outside of Fallujah.

His funeral and burial yesterday, attended by some 200 mourners, were accompanied by a Marine honor guard, rifle salute, bagpipes.

Also on hand were dozens of motorcyclists representing the Patriot Guard Riders, a group that attends soldiers' funerals around the nation to shield families from members of Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas, a congregation that has disrupted services and called the deaths in Iraq revenge for America's tolerance of homosexuality.

A Purple Heart and U.S. flags were presented to his family at graveside, along with a medal Pfc. Freund received for courage for providing medical help to comrades wounded by Iraqi insurgents April 13.

The Rev. John Hissrich said in his homily that Pfc. Freund knew that standing up for democracy and freedom was a difficult challenge, one he didn't shy away from.

"He chose to do what is difficult," Father Hissrich said. "He received a sense of understanding that to build a world of peace and justice, we need to make a sacrifice, and go forth and do what's important."

Pfc. Freund grew up in a broken family and lived as a teenager in the homes of various friends as well as his aunt, Donna Eiben. He failed to graduate from Thomas Jefferson but obtained his General Educational Development certificate afterward and had ambition to go to college after completing his Marine Corps service.

Pausing beside his grave yesterday after most relatives and other mourners departed, a group of about 10 South Hills friends said he often described them as his family because of the troubles he had growing up. He was entertaining in a group, a generous soul with a knack for making others laugh with his storytelling. No one was certain early on, however, what he would make of himself.

That all changed in the past year, after he survived boot camp at Parris Island, S.C. On his trips home, Pfc. Freund showed a steady confidence his peers hadn't seen before. He treated friends to meals, letting them know he was doing fine. He became more religious. And when he told pals he was beginning a tour of duty in Iraq in January, it was without complaint or hint of fear.

"He was glad about it -- he knew what he had to do," said Austin Hatfield of Jefferson Hills.

His friends heard from the Marine that the only things he didn't like in Iraq were the heat and the lack of a good shower. He was patriotic and supported the war effort. His loss was a hard one to take, but no one was ruing the day he enlisted, as he had no regrets about his service himself.

"I don't think he'd have had it any other way," said Jon Peters of Bethel Park