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In Memoriam |
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In Memoriam |
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LCpl. Fred Maciel
Marine killed in crash has family in E. Meredith
By Amy L. AshbridgeStaff Writer
One of the Marines killed in a helicopter crash
in Iraq on Wednesday was origStar photo by Julie Lewis Fred L. Copenhaver points Friday at
his home in East Meredith to his son, Fred L. Maciel, in a group photo of Maciel’s
U.S. Marine Corps unit.inally from East Meredith.
Lance Cpl. Fred L. Maciel, 20, was killed when
the helicopter he was in crashed near Ar Rutbah, Iraq, according to the Department of
Defense. Thirty one U.S. troops died in the crash.
"He was a kind son," Maciel’s
father, Fred Copenhaver, said Friday. "He’d basically do anything for
anybody."
Copenhaver and Maciel’s stepmother, Edna
Copenhaver, live in East Meredith.
Maciel was based out of Hawaii. Before going to
Hawaii, Copenhaver said, Maciel lived in Spring, Texas, with his mother, Patsy Maciel.
Wednesday’s crash was the deadliest event
for American forces in Iraq since the start of the operation in March 2003.
"He had to fly over to the elections,"
Copenhaver said. "He was going to be there for the elections."
Copenhaver, 49, said he talked to his son for the
last time early Sunday morning when Maciel called.
"He was happy," Copenhaver said.
"He was telling me everything he was doing."
Copenhaver heard about his son’s death
Wednesday afternoon.
The U.S. Marines Recruiting Office in Oneonta
confirmed the death Thursday, said Katrina Matthews, Maciel’s stepsister.
"We knew, but we just wanted a final
say," Matthews said.
The last time Maciel had been to the area was in
June, Matthews said, before he went to Iraq.
"That was the last time we had seen
him," Matthews said Friday. "We’re so glad he did (come to the area.)"
Maciel was supposed to return to the States after
this month’s elections in Iraq.
"He was headed home. He had plans,"
Copenhaver said. "He didn’t make it."
Matthews, 31, said Maciel loved children, and her
children loved him.
"They just idolized him," Matthews
said.
"He was a kind, caring, loving person,"
she said. "He was great."
Maciel was engaged to Jamie Hommel, who lives in
Texas.
"She’s not doing good at all,"
Copenhaver said. "She’s taking it pretty hard."
Maciel and Hommel planned to wed once Maciel came
back from Iraq, Copenhaver said.
"He had plans to get married,"
Copenhaver said. "He had plans to go on his honeymoon."
Hommel had already started to plan the wedding,
he said.
She had been shopping with her mother a few weeks
ago.
"They went out and bought the wedding rings
and the wedding dress," Copenhaver said.
Maciel graduated from Spring High School in Texas
in 2003. He joined the Marines that September.
"He was determined to do it when he was in
school," Matthews said.
There were changes in her stepbrother, Matthews
said, after he joined.
"He went there to mature a little,"
Matthews said. "(In June) he’d matured and grown so much since we had seen
him."
Joining the Marines, Copenhaver said, was
something his son always wanted.
"He was a heck of a fighter,"
Copenhaver said. "He went to Fallujah to fight."
Maciel went to Iraq last year, Matthews said.
"He was going to go," she said.
"We just didn’t know where."
Matthews said the service and burial may be next
Saturday, but a definite time and date haven’t been set.
The family needs to wait for Maciel’s body
to be flown back from Iraq, she said.
Maciel will be buried in Texas. His service will
also be there.
"His mom, Patsy, feels he would have wanted
it that way," Matthews said.
Copenhaver said his son died a hero.
"He wanted to fight for his country,"
Copenhaver said. "He wanted to serve.
"He loved his country."