Hundreds turn out for soldier's funeral
ATWATER, Ohio (AP) -- A Marine killed in a roadside bombing in Iraq would be upset that his father was eulogizing him Monday instead of getting out for the start of deer hunting season, his father said at a funeral service.
Hundreds of people attended services for Sgt. Jeremy Murray, 28, at his alma mater, Waterloo High School, in Portage County about 20 miles southeast of Akron.
Harold Murray gave the eulogy.
"I know right now, as he's standing at the right hand of God, he's looking down on his grandfather and I because today is the first day of hunting season and we're not out," the father said. "He's gonna give me heck for that next time I see him."
Murray joined the Marines after graduating from high school in 1996. He was killed Nov. 16 during combat operations near Haditha, Iraq, according to the Department of Defense.
Students at Rootstown High School, a sports rival of Waterloo High and the alma mater of Murray's parents, stood along the funeral procession route as it headed to the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery in Rittman.
In the northwest corner of Ohio, a community memorial service was held Saturday for Marine Sgt. Michael P. Hodshire, 25, of North Adams, Mich., a former Montpelier, Ohio, resident who died Oct. 30 in combat in the Al Anbar province near Fallujah, Iraq.
Montpelier Mayor Steve Yagelski said a tree will be planted in Hodshire's memory next spring.
Hodshire died on his second tour in Iraq with the 3rd platoon, Easy company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment.