Mourners share fond memories of Chad (Chadwick Kenyon)

Bill Christian, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, salutes the coffin containing his nephew; Chadwick Kenyon; Doug Kenyon, right, is comforted by his brother Larry Maynard

Chadwick Kenyon's MySpace page online, in which he listed his mother as one of his heroes, included an ominous statement.

"Comin' home soon," the Navy hospitalman had written. "Words can't describe how good it's gonna be."

As if to caution himself, though, the 20-year-old had gone on to write, "Never look forward to comin' home," because that's when things go downhill.

Kenyon, a 2004 graduate of Mountain View High School who was attached to a Marine unit stationed in Iraq, was one of three American servicemen killed Aug. 20 in Al Anbar province when their vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb.

On Saturday, more than 300 people crammed into a tiny funeral hall at Evergreen Mortuary, 3015 N. Oracle Road, for his memorial service.

With Kenyon's flag-draped casket to their right and a table covered with framed pictures of him in front of the podium, more than two dozen friends and family members shared stories of the mischief-making, rap-music-loving Chad.

"He was my best friend," Joey De La Rosa said, a statement that was repeated by nearly every person who spoke Saturday. "He was a lot of people's best friends."

"We were partners in crime," said Mark Addington, 20, telling of a time he and fellow 14-year-old Chad were caught joyriding in Chad's stepfather's car.

De La Rosa, 20, said he met Chad in third grade at Quail Run Elementary School.

He shared the story of when the two were roughhousing in De La Rosa's kitchen just before the start of seventh grade and Chad chipped his tooth on the refrigerator.

"He said, 'Man, school starts Monday and I'm going to look like a hillbilly,'" De La Rosa said, bringing a momentary bit of levity to an afternoon during which the soundtrack was mostly sniffles and sobs.

Kenyon's father, Doug Kenyon, spoke briefly, telling of how his son loved everyone unconditionally.

Read the rest at the Arizona Star

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