Local family and friends remember Marine killed in Iraq

Sunday, July 15, 2007 11:37 PM PDT
 

July 16, 2007

A standing room only crowd gathered Sunday to celebrate and honor the life of Lance Cpl. Juan Manuel Garcia-Schill, a 20-year-old Marine who was killed in action July 1 in Fallujah, Iraq.

The crowd was too big for the chapel at Eternal Hills, and some had to sit in chairs under the trees outside.

Fellow Marine and good friend for eight years, Lance Cpl. Richard Bowen, told the crowd that Garcia-Schill “was like a brother to me. He had a lot of pride in who he was. We said we would do for each other and watch out for each other. One of the last things he said to me was, ‘If anything happens to me, I want to be remembered for being me.’ ”

Gov. Ted Kulongoski called Garcia-Schill “a young American hero of Oregon.”

Kulongoski, a former Marine, traveled to Klamath Falls after attending services in Coos Bay Saturday for Lance Cpl. Steven Stacy. Garcia-Schill was the third Marine with connections to Klamath Falls who died in Iraq, the governor said, quoting Abraham Lincoln’s “how it must feel to lay down such a costly sacrifice at the altar of freedom.”

“He was an Oregonian of overwhelming promise. His short life was filled with meaning, grace and honor,” Kulongoski said. Turning to the family, he said, “He was the best Oregon had to give.”

Congressman Greg Walden emphasized Garcia-Schill’s work with children.

“Manuel cared about children ��- those in Iraq and those where he grew up. He helped kids in Grants Pass learn soccer and Spanish. He wanted to teach elementary school when his service in the Marine Corps was completed.”

Quoting an observation President Ronald Reagan made, Walden said, “Some people spend their entire lives wondering if they made a difference in the world. The Marines don’t have that problem.”

Sharing a bond

Family friends and fellow corpsmen, Quentin and Ciecal Bettles of Chiloquin, and other family members, gave a Native American tribute, performing a traditional honoring song with drumming, punctuated by the Marine battle cry “Huah!” from the Marines who accompanied the casket.

The reading of the awarding of the Purple Heart to Garcia-Schill for wounds received resulting in his death was given.

Rod Schill, a great uncle, gave the concluding remarks by reading, at his mother’s request, what Garcia-Schill had said when he deployed.

He told his family he was going for “the honor and protection of my country and my family.”

After serving in Iraq, he changed his reason to “the honor and protection of my country, my family and the children here.”

He closed with “Semper Fi!”

Schill said could identify with how Garcia-Schill felt. He was a Marine who served in Vietnam, and he said, “I remember how sorry I felt for the children in that war.”

Memories shared

As well as honoring his service and helping shoulder the grief of the family, those in attendance shared memories of Garcia-Schill, during and after the service.

They remembered him as a person who was proud of his Mexican heritage, proud to be an American and who had a desire from a young age to help children.

Bev Schill, wife of his grandfather Rick Schill, most remembered his sense of humor, particularly a time when his sister, Sandra, who never smiled, wanted to be a nurse.

“He told her ‘I can just see you going in to a patient and saying, ‘Roll over.’ ” Recalling that still brought laughter to those gathered nearby outside the chapel.

As the white hearse carried the flag-draped coffin from Eternal Hills Chapel to the site of the interment, two young girls walked behind, carrying a Mexican flag.

Marines and other military members, then family and friends followed.

A cadre of about 40 Patriot Guard Riders from Bend, Redmond, La Pine and Roseburg, men and women veterans who had stood with military flags along the drive to the chapel, brought up the rear.

At the site in the Garden of the Apostles, full military honors were accorded to Garcia-Schill, including a three-gun salute, taps and presentations to the family.

- By Lee Beach