In Memoriam

Member of 'Mentor Seven' dies in Iraq

The bond shared by a group of Mentor High School graduates who played high school hockey together, then enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps together, was much deeper than simple friendship.
It was brotherhood, said Brian Halan.
This week, the group that has come to be known as the Mentor Seven lost a brother.
U.S. Marine Sgt. Mark T. Smykowski, 23, was killed Tuesday while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province in Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Reconnaissance, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force in Camp Lejeune, N.C.
"Mark died protecting us," Halan said. "He was a truly all-around amazing person."
Halan returned to Mentor High Thursday along with Matthew Neath and their hockey coach, Jack Smeltz, to remember the fallen Marine. Halan and Neath recently finished their active duty as U.S. Marine sergeants.
Smykowski's family members were not immediately available for comment on Thursday.
Halan, Smykowski and Neath went to Parris Island, S.C., for boot camp after they graduated in 2000.
Smykowski's brother, Darren; Neath's brother, Nathan; and Joseph Lorek and Nicholas Psenicnik went into the Marines in July 2002.
Smykowski chose to become a reconnaissance man, one of the most difficult jobs in the military service.
Among other things, reconnaissance involves scout swimming; small-boat operations; close combat skills; helicopter and submarine insertion and extraction techniques; and assault climbing.
"His heart was huge," Neath said of Smykowski.
"He was an example of what a young person should be as far as appreciation of freedom and all it stands for," said Smeltz, who coached the six group members who played hockey.
And if a Marine Corps recruiting office ever needed a poster boy for what a Marine is supposed to be, Smykowski would make a perfect fit, Halan said.
Joining the Marine Corps was something they all wanted to do, Neath said.
"I don't think any one of us thought we'd be coming home without the other," Neath said.
Halan first received the news that Smykowski had been killed on Tuesday.
"I called Matt and within a matter of an hour, everyone knew about it," Halan said.
"But I was still hoping it was just a bad joke. I still didn't want to believe it."
As Halan and Neath spread the word to their own family members, the brotherhood that the group shared became even more evident.
"We're all sons and they are all parents," Halan said of the tightness of each of the seven families. "My mom feels like she lost a son."
As he sat alongside Neath and Smeltz, Halan recalled the last time he saw Smykowski.
It was on St. Patrick's Day in Myrtle Beach, S.C., where Halan and his girlfriend plan to settle after they get married.
"He had met my girlfriend and asked if we were getting married," Halan said. "I said that I wanted him in my wedding and he said, 'I don't know, I'm really busy.' "
As Halan conveyed how important it was to him that Smykowski be in his wedding, Smykowski agreed.
Now, Halan is preparing for Smykowski's funeral.
While details have yet to be released, Halan said he is already making plans to head to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
"Come hell or high water, I'm going to Arlington," Halan said. "I'm not going to miss that."
The rest of the Mentor Seven are either serving stateside or finished with their service as well, Halan said.
Halan and Neath say they will remember the good times they had with Smykowski.
"I'm going to remember him the best way I can," Halan said.
"I want to put a flag up at the first house I buy and look up at it every day to remember. It's not just cloth and string. When I see a flag, I see Mark."