Christopher Zimmerman honored, laid to rest

Tomas Natal and his childhood friend, Christopher Zimmerman, promised each other that if anything ever happened to one of them, they would comfort and protect the other's family.

Now Natal must fulfill that promise.

Zimmerman was killed Sept. 20 while fighting in Iraq. On Thursday, nearly 600 mourners celebrated the life of the 28-year-old man they described as genuine and protective of the underdog.

"He never liked anyone being bullied around," Natal said during services at the United Heritage Center at Dell Diamond in Round Rock. "There are no words to describe how great a guy he was."

Family and friends say that attitude is part of why Zimmerman joined the Marine Corps in 1997, one year after graduating from McNeil High School.

He served a five-year in stint in the Marines and was the flight chief of Huey helicopters at Camp Pendleton in California. He got out briefly, served in the Marine Reserves, then rejoined full time after Sept. 11.

He had tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Zimmerman was killed by gunfire while serving as a staff sergeant in the 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion in al Anbar province.

Nick Hoogie, a high school friend who joined the Marines one year after Zimmerman, read the creed for the Recon Marine during the service.

"As a Recon Marine, I can speak without saying a word and achieve what others can only imagine. And he did," Hoogie said.

Zimmerman grew up in the Brushy Creek neighborhood in Round Rock. Natal lived on the same street, and the two used to fight a lot at the bus stop.

One day Natal said he asked Zimmerman why they fought.

"Dude, I don't know," Zimmerman answered.

"I said, 'Well, do you want to be friends?' And he said, 'Well, might as well,' " Natal said.

The pair — along with two other neighborhood kids — remained good friends throughout high school and their adult lives.

Natal said he last saw Zimmerman in April, right before he was leaving to go to Iraq.

"I told him 'take care, and God bless," Natal said. "He was a unique man. He'll always be our hero."

One of Zimmerman's neighborhood friends, Collins Aki, said Zimmerman was "such an original."

"He's the only person I know who's jumped off the Mansfield Dam," Aki said, jokingly.

Read the rest at the Statesman

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