Willoughby Marine laid to rest
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Maggi Martin and Michael Scott
Plain Dealer Reporters
Little Alexander Montgomery might never remember his father's funeral.
Others aren't likely to ever forget.
Some 600 mourners overflowed Mentor United Methodist Church Wednesday to honor the service, the sacrifice, and the memory of Lance Cpl. Brian Montgomery.
Hundreds more lined flag-filled roadways as the police-escorted funeral procession wound through streets in Lake County and into Geauga, where a Marine officer awarded him a Purple Heart at the end of graveside services.
Montgomery, 26, of Willoughby, was one of six snipers killed Aug. 1 in Iraq. Four, like Montgomery, were reservists in the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regi ment, in Brook Park.
"We would not be here standing if someone like Brian didn't fight before for our freedom," said Alex Figueroa, 15, of Mentor. Figueroa, a member of the Young Marines military youth group, was waiting with others in the sweltering heat along a Mentor street.
Inside the church, Montgomery's younger brother, Lance Cpl. Eric Montgomery, 21, crisply saluted the flag-covered casket, then faced a weeping crowd.
"Thank you, Brian, for getting me home," he said, lifting his eyes. "That is all that mattered to him was that I make it home. He told me: If I fall, make sure my boy gets my dog tags.' "
Eric Montgomery led the mourners in a two-minute standing ovation for his brother.
"He will always be right here with me, with all of you," Eric said. "And I am going to take good care of his son, Alex. I will welcome him to the Corps one day."
Alexander -- the baby boy dressed in a Marine dress blue uniform -- turned 1 year old Aug. 3, a day after his family learned of Brian Montgomery's death.
The toddler fussed a bit as pallbearers inched their way into church.
Moments later, he sheltered in his grandfather's arms, unaware of his father's sacrifice. But Brian's father, Paul Montgomery, was keenly aware. He said he well understood his son's fiery desire to protect his country, and that he knew his final destination.
"I know my son is now in heaven -- because he died in hell," Paul Montgomery said.
Montgomery said his son had always been a peacemaker.
He recalled a young Brian rushing to the aid of a 5-year-old buddy with a skinned knee, and years later being suspended from South High School in Willoughby for punching a boy who had slapped a girl.
He also knew Brian was bravely "lying" to him when asked about the severity of the situation in Iraq.
" I'm good to go,' " was all he would say," Paul Montgomery recalled.
The Rev. Mike Gibson also said Brian Montgomery was a peacemaker. "Brian believed in what he was doing," he said. "He never gave up the good fight."
Brian Montgomery's wife, Pam, said family and friends can keep her late husband's memory alive by honoring others still fighting. "We need to honor our service members every day," she said. "If you see one, salute them. Or stop in the recruiting office, or the VFW, and thank them."
The post-funeral procession, en route to Western Reserve Memorial Gardens in Chester Township, passed through Montgomery's hometown of Willoughby and Mentor-on-the-Lake, both communities where he had owned small businesses.
Parents of a pair of other Marines in the 3rd Battalion stood by in Willoughby. Diane Bosley wept quietly. She hasn't heard from her own son, Donald, 23, in about a week.
"But I know he's OK at this point," she said. "I came today because these Marines are all brothers."
Dan Kozar was stoic and proud. His son Daniel is a 30-year-old staff sergeant in the 25th Regiment.
"I don't think there's anything more honorable than to serve your country like these young men are doing," Kozar said.
Elsewhere, 80 players of the South High football team stopped their summer workout to stand silent as the procession drove along Robinhood Drive.
At Montgomery's Video Replay store in Willoughby, a single flower barrel barred the way to the entrance to the store. Nearby, Shirley Kraft shook her head in sorrow for the fallen.
"I just think it's so sad to lose such young people when they haven't really had a chance to find out what life is all about yet," she said. "I'm praying for this all to be over soon."
Others hoped and prayed for peace both inside and outside the Mentor church. One young mother wondered what might happen if that peace never comes.
Renee Finucan of Mentor juggled a giant American flag and a 1-year-old boy of her own.
Her three other young sons darted around her outside the church.
"We came because you never know when it could be you," she said, choking back tears. "Someday that could be my boy."
