In Memoriam

Words of honor fill final tribute to slain Marine

 

Thursday, March 01, 2007

By Susan Harrison Wolffis

susanharrison@muskegonchronicle.com

Flags flew throughout Oceana County Wednesday, the day they buried one of their own: 20-year-old U.S. Marine Pfc. Brett Witteveen of Shelby.

Flags flew everywhere, and women wept for the young man who was killed Feb. 18, reportedly by a roadside bomb while on patrol in Fallujah, Iraq. Witteveen, who was part of a 14-man mission, was the only casualty.

Men -- civilians and those in uniform -- saluted his flag-draped casket minutes before Witteveen's funeral service began at Shelby Road Baptist Church, then wiped their eyes in open emotion.

High school buddies wore their Hart High School football jerseys over their shirts and ties: a sign that they were on the same team as Witteveen. Later, they, too, would salute the fallen Marine as a sign of respect -- and unparalleled friendship.

"Brett was a loved guy," said the Rev. Jamie Woodall, pastor of First Baptist Church in Hart, who befriended Witteveen in high school.

Witteveen, who graduated in 2005, played both offense and defense on the football team. Like most of the other speakers, Woodall -- nicknamed "Pastor Dude" by the kids at school -- compared the football team to a family.

"Your family," he assured them.

More than 500 people filled Shelby Road Baptist Church Wednesday morning for a 1 1/2-hour service of music, prayer, sermons and citations. There were so many people, extra chairs had to be set up in the choir loft and aisles. When those were filled, people stood against the back walls, in doorways, wherever there was room.

"There are several reasons why we have come together today," said the Rev. Mark Sterken, pastor of the Shelby church, who officiated at the service. "One of them is to hear what God has to say on a day like today. ... The other is to honor the memory and life of Brett. "

The words of honor came from all sides: friends, military personnel, pastors.

"Brett was a guy going places," Woodall said.

Witteveen dreamed of going to college to become a personal trainer after he'd finished his time in the Marines, Woodall said. Witteveen was shipped to Iraq in October after completing training in September.

Witteveen was "born to be a veteran," said U.S. Marine Lt. Col. Joe Rossi, because he was born on Nov. 11, 1986 -- Veterans Day.

"He always desired to be part of something bigger than himself and what he could accomplish on his own," Rossi said, reading from a letter from Witteveen's commanding officer in Iraq.

"He was an all-American kid."

His friend, the "Pastor Dude" Woodall, filled in some of the details that made Witteveen who he was.

"He was a man of discipline. He did what he was supposed to do," Woodall said. "If they said put an 80-pound pack on your back and get up that hill, that's what he did."

Of course, he also showed up to boot camp without his razor, Woodall said, easing the emotions of the day with humor. Witteveen would have loved the laughter, he said.

"His dad says there's two words to describe him: free entertainment," Woodall said. "He'd do anything to make people laugh."

He also had a stubborn streak. He'd always take on a dare. He was best defined by a song sung at his funeral: "I Did It My Way." And he was loyal beyond description.

"But his friends would want me to tell you: not with people from other schools," Woodall said.

Witteveen, who grew up in Shelby, moved to Hart when he was in middle school after his mother, Edie Witteveen, died. Brett Witteveen was 11 when she died.

"After his mom died, Brett's family had a code of commitment ... a deep unspoken tightness," Woodall said.

Edie Witteveen would have turned 45 Wednesday -- the day her son was buried.

"Brett wrestled with the big issues of life," Woodall said. "He understood brokenness."

But Woodall was there "to offer hope," he said, and called up Witteveen's best friend and former teammate, Jeremy Prudhomme of Hart.

"I don't know why God thought it was Brett's time," he said. "The only comfort I can find in this situation is that the last conversation we had, he gave his life to Christ."

Woodall said Witteveen had been on "a spiritual journey, and that's the hope," he said. "Before the end came, he understood. He got it. ... I believe Brett is enjoying a beautiful reunion with his mother, and they'll be with Jesus forever."

When the last prayer was said, and after the pianist played "Let There Be Peace on Earth" as part of the musical benediction, Witteveen's friends lined the path his casket would make one last time.

Outside the church door, a hearse waited to take his casket on a 19-mile trip to West Hesperia Cemetery where Witteveen was buried with full military rites, including a 21-gun salute and a bugler playing "Taps" from a spot under a lone pine tree.

Scores of people formed a procession that wound for miles through farmland and country roads. Once at the cemetery, they walked through mud, ice and melting snow to be near Witteveen's family.

"I want to thank you," Sterken told Witteveen's father, Rick. "We owe you a debt of gratitude for the sacrifice (Brett Witteveen) made. He is the reason we have this freedom of ours."