Brandon J. Webb - A Tribute to a Young Marine
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Richard Gardner | Friday, July 7, 2006 |
Washington Post, Page B-5, Obituaries
Brandon J. Webb was good at a lot of things.
“He was an amazing student,” said his older brother, Austin W. Christofferson. “He loved baseball. He liked to pitch. And he loved painting Warhammer figurines.”…”He always wanted to be a Marine,” his brother said. “His uncle Eddie was also a Marine.”
Uncle Eddie never went to war, but Webb was sent to Iraq. The lance corporal was due to return home Aug. 2, his mother, Ann Christofferson, told the Arizona Republic. But Webb was killed in combat in Anbar province June 20. Two other soldiers from his unit, Pfc. Christopher N. White, 23, of Southport, N.C., and Staff Sgt. Benjamin D. Williams, 30, of Orange, Tex., also were killed that day. The men were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Cpl. Jonathan Santiago, a Camp Pendleton spokesman, said the deaths are under investigation.
At Arlington National Cemetery yesterday, the sun beat down as mourners watched six Marines slowly lift Webb’s flag-draped coffin out of a silver-colored hearse. As the Marines held the flag aloft over the coffin, Lt. Ron Nordan, cemetery chaplain, spoke of the cemetery’s history as a place to lay the nation’s heroes to rest.
“Today we add another hero to the list,” he said.
Seated a few feet from the coffin and dressed in black, Webb’s mother listened and at one point dropped her face into her hands. A few mourners dabbed at their eyes as a rifle salute was fired and a bugler played taps.
Marcus Otero, 20, of Mesa, Ariz., told the Republic that Webb had lived with his family during his senior year of high school and was like a brother to him. The report said that Webb had persuaded Otero to join the military as well, and that he will leave for Iraq this fall; the two had planned to spend time together after Webb returned and before Otero left.
Otero told the newspaper that Webb was ready to come home and had even picked out the car he wanted to buy upon his return.
Austin Christofferson said he admired his brother’s initiative.
“He led by example,” he said. “He put off a real example of how to live your life.”
Sad, but I understand. Freedom isn’t free.
About the Author: A “retired” Navy Submarine Officer with military policy, arms control, and budgeting experience, he served for 6 years on the Joint staffs of US Strategic Command (Strategy & Policy) and the Iceland Defense Force. On the Navy Staff at the Pentagon, he was the Action Officer & Program Sponsor for the SSGN Project and Navy Ballistic Missile Programs. He has a BS in Engineering from the University of California, Irvine. He made a few guest posts OTB starting in January 2004 covering special events and has made frequent contributions since.
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