Marines do not abandon each other, on or off the battlefield. Which is why the corps escorts its fallen brothers all the way to their final resting place with precision in ceremony and support for the family. This is the story of how the Marines took care of Cpl. Eric Lueken, Dubois County's first casualty of the Iraq war.
A photo of Cpl. Eric Lueken rested on the cap of a member of the Marine's casualty assistance detail at the Becher-Kluesner Funeral Home's north chapel Thursday.
Euclide, right, watched as pallbearers rehearsed with an empty casket at the funeral home, a practice that last several hours on May 11. They later traveled the the Louisville airport and practiced on the tarmac before Eric's plane arrived.
Sgt. Andre Valdez polished the buckel on a set of Eric's dress blues that was on display at the funeral home. Valdez and others spent nearly two hours on the display, making sure the buttons shined, the medals and ribbons were correctly spaced and accessories like his hat, gloves and sword were properly displayed.
No part of the Marine dress blue uniforms goes uninspected and at the airport before the arrival of Lueken's body, Staff Sgt. Kevin Bruce, center, used a lint roller on the back of 1st Sgt. Troy Euclide.
Summary: Marines do not abandon each other, which is why the corps escorts its fallen brothers all the way to their final resting places. That mission falls to the Marine Casualty Assistance Team â Marines who emphasize precision in ceremony and support for the family. Caption:A Marine color guard stood at parade rest at sunset on May 11 as it and fellow Marines awaited the return of a fallen brother, Cpl. Eric Lueken, of Dubois, who was killed April 22 while serving in Iraq.
When the plane made its stop at the gate, it was emptied of its passengers and baggage before the ceremony that marked Lueken's return home.
As Marine pall bearers began to remove the casket from the plane's cargo hold, 1st Sgt. Troy Euclide gathered in Melinda Lueken as the Marines marched closer and closer. Euclide stood close to Melinda since word of her son's death and has been constant source of comfort.
Melinda and Glenn "Jake" Lueken, of Dubois, watched as Maj. Randall Hoffman untucked the flag on the casket of their son, Eric.
Lueken's cousin, Holly Vonderheide, of Jasper, hugged Cpl. Ryan Schmitt as he and Cpl. Jeremy Schnarr, wiped away tears in a back hallway following a purple heart ceremony at the funeral home.
Five days after the funeral, Euclide visited the Lueken family and made a stop at the St. Raphael Cemetery in Dubois to see the flowers and items left on Eric's grave.