LCpl. Shane L. Goldman, U.S.M.C. (KIA)

Saying goodbye to a fallen hero: Goldman family members pay their last respects

Shane Goldman loved his country, his hometown and the Marine Corps said family and friends who gathered to say their last goodbyes to him on Friday.

Marine Lance Cpl. Goldman, 19, was killed in action April 5 in heavy fighting in the Al Anbar province of Iraq. He attended Little Cypress-Mauriceville High School and graduated from Parkview Baptist High School in Louisiana before joining the Marine Corps in 2002.

Friday morning his friends and family said goodbye to Goldman in services at a North Orange Baptist Church Chapel covered with the patriotic ribbons and wreaths his family said was symbolic of the patriotism that was so much a part of Goldman's life.

Goldman's uncle Neal Davis told the attendees how much his nephew loved being a Marine and had planned to be one from the time he was old enough to "walk and talk."

He talked about Shane's love for his fiancé, his deep faith and his love of his duty to his country.

Printed in the funeral program was one Bible verse that was read at the service and used to symbolize Goldman's life and the sacrifices he made for his country.

"I have fought the good fight, finished the race, kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteous which the Lord the righteous judge will award me on that day," the verse said.

At the end of the funeral an honor guard from the 1st Battalion of the 23rd Marines, 4th Marine Division escorted the flag-draped coffin to a hearse.

Goldman leaves behind a fiancé Shelly Malin, his parents Bobby and Jan Manshack of Orange and George H. Goldman Jr. of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands; grandfather, Mike Manshack of Orange; sister and brother-in-law, Misty and John Harrell; niece Makayla Harrell of Pickton; sister Cheyenne Goldman of Orange; brothers, Matt Manshack and Bradley Manshack both of Orange.

The Marine's father, George "Scooter" Goldman remembered the last time he saw his son alive was when Shane was getting on a plane to join the Marine Corp.

"I just wish I could hug him like I did that day at the airport in St. Croix," Goldman said.

Scooter Goldman said he traveled a great deal when his son was growing up, but Shane always tried to call him whatever country he landed in.

He remembers his son kissing him goodbye on the phone whenever it was time to hang up.

However, it was the e-mails and phone calls he got from Shane that are burned into his mind these days. In one call, the last he recieved from his son, Shane explained to Scooter how different this mission felt from the first time he was in Iraq and kissed him goodbye on the phone again.

"He told me that they (the Iraqis) don't like us like they did the first time," Goldman said.

A little while after that Scooter's brother called him and told him Shane had been killed in action.

"I cried. Like I cried the day he was born, like I am crying now," Goldman said.

Goldman said he tries to focus on the pleasant memories of his son, but for right now, those memories always dissolve into sadness when he realizes he will never experience them again.

"I just wish I could put my arm around him one more time," Goldman said.

As he fought back tears Scooter Goldman said the words Shane said to him as he was getting on that plane in St. Croix keep echoing in his head.

"He told me he was going to make me proud. I told him he already had," Goldman said.

As his friends and family drove down 16th Street on the way to the Hillcrest Memorial cemetery, the street was lined with people waving flags in support of Goldman's family and his memory. There were Marine Corps flags, men and women in uniform and citizens holding their hands on the hearts as the procession passed.

Several of the white and black and red white and blue ribbons created by local florist to honor his memory hanged from businesses along the street.

On MacArthur Drive, two Orange fire trucks extended their ladders to the highest point and displayed a flag across the street between them in Shane's honor.