News
Joined in Grief Community gathers to welcome home body of a local soldier killed in Iraq
ANOTHER LOSS: SOLDIER IS ONE OF 10 FROM STATE TO BE KILLED
Journal photo by Lauren Carroll
Kelli Sims of Dobson cries as she salutes the hearse bearing the coffin of Pfc. Adam Marion as it makes its way through downtown Dobson.
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: May 4, 2008
DOBSON
Residents lined the roadsides yesterday as the family of Pfc. Adam Lee Marion brought his body back to his hometown of Dobson.
Children held American flags, and their mothers stood beside them on the sidewalk wiping away tears. In a procession of police patrol cars and rescue vehicles, the hearse made its way to Moody-Davis Funeral Service, two blocks from the Surry County Courthouse where Marion's mother is the clerk of court and his father is a magistrate.
One girl held a sign saying "Thank you, Adam."
Marion died Monday during an attack on a base near Baghdad. He is the 10th U.S. Army National Guard soldier from North Carolina to die in the war.
He was 26.
"You have heroes everywhere. But this was our hero," said Lisa Ladd of Elkin. "This is just everybody's way of letting Adam's family know we appreciate him."
Marion was with the 171st Engineer Company out of St. Pauls. He was the operator of a "Husky," a vehicle that leads convoys to clear improvised explosive devices. Another member of his unit was wounded during the same attack.
A funeral with full military honors is scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday at Piney Grove Baptist Church in Dobson.
Some tied red, white and blue ribbons on utility poles in Marion's honor. Someone left a wreath of flowers on the courthouse square. Others put up American flags on the grocery store, the post office and the banks.
Dobson is small, with a population of about 1,400. And it's small enough that people care, said Janet Seivers, a resident.
Marion played Little League baseball here. He learned to play golf in high school. And he made many proud when he enlisted in the National Guard in March 2007.
He joined the 883rd Engineer Company in Mount Airy as a combat engineer. He graduated basic training and combat engineer school in July 2007.
He became fast friends with Pfc. Andrew Crouse, Pfc. Adam Dunn and Spc. Adam Plummer. And when the four of them learned that their unit would not be deploying to Iraq, they all volunteered to deploy with the 171st Engineer Company from St. Pauls, said Lisa Hitchcock, Plummer's mother.
A week before leaving for Iraq in September, they got matching tattoos of a cross and the words "Freedom Isn't Free" on their biceps. Then they posed for photos with their sleeves pulled up.
"It's been a hard week," said Hitchcock, of Kernersville. "He would bring those guys to our house. They are very good boys."
The National Guard has played a critical role in the war. Since 2001, the Guard has deployed 32,871 soldiers, said Sgt. Robert Jordan, a Guard spokesman.
Currently, there are 570 soldiers from the N.C. Army National Guard who are deployed. The units in Iraq include the 171st, the 130th Military History Detachment of Raleigh and the 1132nd Military Police Company of Rocky Mount.
Of all the North Carolina units, the 1132nd has suffered a disproportionate loss. Four of the 10 guardsmen from North Carolina killed in the war were in that unit.
Marion was the first soldier with the 171st to be killed in the war.
Friends say that before he joined the National Guard, Marion held a variety of jobs in Surry County. He loved children, and at one point, he worked with children involved with parks and recreation programs and at a home for abused children.
Family members say that he carried his passion for helping children with him to Iraq, where he spent as much time as possible with Iraqi kids.
Eleven days before his death, he was home on leave.
Marion was the only son of Pam and Don Marion. In addition to his parents, he is survived by an older sister, Adrian.
He graduated in 2000 from Surry Central High School.
"Adam, our dear son and brother, has left us," the family wrote in statement released by the Guard. "No words can ever really express how sad we feel at his loss."
Soldiers in Marion's unit told his parents how he bravely led convoys. According to his platoon sergeant, Sgt. 1st Class Ronald Price, Husky operators are chosen for their maturity and provedability as combat engineers.
"Pfc. Marion recently conducted route clearance in Sadr City, the most dangerous area of Baghdad, and his expertise resulted in finding multiple improvised explosive devices, as well as other explosives threats," Price said.
Marion remained cool and professional in more than 100 route-clearance missions in the Baghdad area, Price said.
Yesterday's procession included a group of motorcyclists called Patriot Guard Riders.
It took the line of patrol cars, ambulances, fire trucks and motorcycles about 30 minutes to wind its way through Dobson.
Deputies from the Surry County Sheriff's Office stood outside the funeral home as the hearse pulled into a garage and Marion's body was taken inside. No one spoke.
Then, deputies and other law-enforcement officers made a circle, held hands and began to pray.
"We thank the community that comes together, for Adam and the life that he lived," said Sheriff Graham Atkinson, who led the prayer. "He was there, and he died for our freedom."
■ Sherry Youngquist can be reached in Mount Airy at 336-789-9338 or at syoungquist@wsjournal.com .
N.C. National Guard casualties
There have been 10 soldiers killed in action in the war on terror from the North Carolina National Guard.
SPC. JOCELYN CARRASQUILLO
Age: 28
Hometown: Wrightsville Beach
Unit: 1st Bn, 120th Inf Regiment Wilmington
KIA 3/13/2004
Country: Iraq
Cause: Vehicle hit by IED
Operation: OIF
CAPT. CHRISTOPHER S. CASH
Age: 36
Hometown: Winterville
Unit: 1st BN, 120th Infantry Jacksonville
KIA 6/24/2004
City: Baqouba
Cause: Small-arms fire and RPG attack
Operation: OIF
SPC. DANIEL A. DESENS
Age: 20
Hometown: Jacksonville
Unit: 1st BN, 120th Infantry Jacksonville
KIA 6/24/2004
City: Baqouba
Cause: Small arms fire and RPG attack
Operation: OIF
STAFF SGT. BOBBY FRANKLIN
Age: 38
Hometown: Mineral Bluff, Ga.
Unit: 210th MP Co Murphy
KIA 8/20/2003
City: Baghdad
Cause: Injuries from IED
Operation: OIF
STAFF SGT. MICHAEL S. VOSS
Age: 35
Hometown: Carthage,
Unit: 1st Battalion, 120th Infantry Wilmington
KIA 10/8/2004
City: Tikrit
Cause: IED
Operation: OIF
SGT. THOMAS C. RAY
Age: 40
Hometown: Weaverville
Unit: 1132 Military Police Co.
KIA 3/22/2008
City: near Baghdad
Cause: IED
Operation: OIF
SGT. DAVID WILLIAMS
Age: 26
Hometown: Tarboro
Unit: 1132 Military Police Co.
KIA 3/22/2008
City: near Baghdad
Cause: IED
Operation: OIF
STAFF SGT. EMANUEL PICKETT
Age: 34
Hometown: Wallace
Unit: 1132nd Military Police
KIA 4/06/2008
City: near Baghdad
Cause: rocket/mortar attack
Operation: OIF
SGT. LANCE OLIVER EAKES
Age: 25
Hometown: Apex
Unit: 1132nd Military Police
KIA 4/18/2008
City: near Baghdad
Cause: IED
Operation: OIF
PFC. ADAM LEE MARION
Age: 26
Hometown: Mount Airy
Unit: 171st Engineer Company (Sapper)
KIA 4/28/2008
City: near Baghdad
Cause: indirect fire
Operation: OIF
ADVERTISEMENT
N.C. Politics
Federal Politics
The Downtown Summer Music Series will begin on Thursday. Ed Bumgardner talks to some of the organizers of the Downtown Jazz lineup, in which a form of music known as "smooth jazz" will play a more prominent role this year.
Thursday's relish stories will appear in the Entertainment section.
Advertisement
Post a comment
(Requires free registration.)
* Keep it clean
* Respect others
* Don't hate
* Don't use language you wouldn't use with your mom
* Use "Report Inappropriate Comments" link when necessary
* See Member Agreement for details