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Memorial Honors Marine Loved By
All
(July 6, 2011) |
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 MARINE
CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (MCN - 6/29/2011) — Tears
streamed down the face of Lance Cpl. Steven E. Burbol,
standing proudly in his Alpha dress uniform as he described
his memories of a young man he knew better than anyone and
whom he thought of as a brother.
Cpl. William H.
Crouse IV was honored in a ceremony June 29, 2011, aboard
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C. Family, friends and
fellow Marines filled the audience as men and women took to
the podium to share their most cherished memories of a
Marine they said was a light in their lives.
Crouse
was originally trained as an artilleryman and stationed at
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C., with Battery C, 1st
Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division. During
his time in the battery, Crouse made friends fast.
Burbol, an artilleryman with Battery C, said Crouse was one
of the people he made friends with when he first came to the
unit.
“Right when we arrived, he sort of took us
under his wing. He was one of those people who was always
smiling, always joking. I don't think there was any Marine
who didn't like him.”
In November of 2010, shortly
after being moved to Battery B, Crouse was deployed in
support of Operation Enduring Freedom as an improvised
explosive device detector dog handler. Tragically, Crouse
died from wounds he received in combat Dec. 21, 2010, less
than two months in to the deployment.
“It was tough
hearing about it second-hand and not being there for him,”
said Lance Cpl. Aaron T. Lopez, an artilleryman with Battery
C and a close friend of Crouse. “I felt like if he would
have been with us, we might have been able to do something.
He was a really good friend to all of us, and it's tough
dealing with him not being here.”
Crouse's death
affected not only his loved ones, but even the loved ones of
his fellow Marines. “My entire family knew him,” said Burbol.
“He used to come home with me on weekends. They're all here
now to honor him.”
Those families got a chance to
see the true person that was William Crouse, and for those
who didn't, his portrait was displayed during the memorial
for all to see: a portrait of Crouse with a sly grin
plastered across his face. The people who knew him said this
was how they would remember him for the rest of their days.
Lt. Col. Jeffery C. Smitherman, the commanding
officer of 1/10, said the most important thing is to do just
that--remember.
“When we're honoring and remembering
fallen Marines, we're honoring the fathers and husbands they
never had a chance to be.”
After the ceremony was
over, the display packed up and everyone had left, the
theater returned to its normal, quiet state. Although
events, ceremonies and movies will continue to take place
there, the family and fellow Marines of William Crouse will
continue to remember and carry on, keeping him in their
hearts. |
By USMC Pvt. Brian M. Woodruff
2nd Marine Division
Copyright 2011 | |
Reprinted from
Marine Corps News
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