Posted on 04/07/2003 12:20:24 PM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) -- Scores of people, some waving flags, stood in a wet, heavy snow Monday along the funeral route for Marine Reserve Sgt. Bradley Korthaus, one of the first American casualties in Iraq.
Some saluted and others held their hands over their hearts as the procession of 200 vehicles wound its way slowly through the city in a spring snowstorm. Police closed off intersections along the route to the national cemetery at Rock Island Arsenal, where Korthaus was to be buried with full military honors.
Korthaus, 28, of Davenport drowned March 24 while crossing a canal in southeast Iraq. He was a member of the 6th Engineers Support Battalion, based in Peoria, Ill.
Korthaus, the first Iowan to die in Iraq, was eulogized as a man devoted to his country and friends and a lover of country music, fishing and his old dog, Bosco.
"If anybody could protect this wonderful country ... it would be Brad," said Kelley Holland, a longtime friend, during the funeral service at Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church.
Korthaus, known as "Cruiser" to his friends, was one of two men who drowned in the Saddam Canal while crossing the 30-yard waterway to set up armed cover for a water purification team. Two other Marines made it safely to the other side.
Cpl. Evan James, 20, of La Harpe, Ill., also drowned during the mission. Two senior military officers are trying to determine whether additional precautions should have been taken.
The church was packed with more than 450 people for Korthaus' funeral Mass. Sobbing was audible.
Before the funeral, the family posted photos of Korthaus on bulletin boards near the church entrance. There was one of a smiling youngster wearing a navy blue sailor's outfit with a white cap at a tilt. There was another of him as a young man with friends on a road trip. A third pictured him outpacing friends in a watermelon-eating contest.
State troopers stopped traffic on Interstate 74 east to allow for the funeral processional to pass by. Police Capt. David Struckman told the Quad-City Times that Korthaus was receiving the same massive police escort afforded visiting dignitaries and presidents.
"We have to pay tribute to one who gave the ultimate sacrifice," he said.
The flag at City Hall flew at half-staff Monday in Korthaus' honor.
May God give His peace to this young man's family.
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