Jeremy Monroe laid to rest

DODSON — Jeremy S. Sandvick Monroe, 20, one of three Marines killed last weekend in Iraq, was laid to rest here Monday.

Several hundred mourners crammed into Hillside Cemetery to watch as a Marine honor guard presented the flags draped over Monroe's casket to his mother, Mellissa Pike of Chinook, and his father, Monte Monroe of Darby.

Many wept as a bugler blew taps and the Marines saluted their fallen comrade.

A stiff wind laced with sparse snowflakes lashed the American flags held by veterans at the entrance to the cemetery.

From Chinook to Dodson, mourners held flags and saluted as the hearse drove by. Several dozen people stood waiting at the entrance to Fort Belknap.

Before the funeral service, Marine Lance Cpl. Howie Miller of Chinook was comforted by fellow servicemen as he wept in front of the open casket of Monroe, a 2004 Chinook High School graduate who was killed Oct. 8 by a sniper in the Al Anbar province in Iraq.

Close friends, Monroe and Miller enlisted in the Marines on the same day. In full uniform, with tears running down his cheeks, Miller served as one of the pall bearers.

"Jeremy found good in everyone," said Perry Miller, Howie's father. "His bright eyes, quirky laugh and funny faces would win you over in no time."

His sister-in-law, Donna Miller, one of Monroe's teachers, remembered the Valentine's Day card she received which flattered her as one of the world's greatest teachers, then pleaded she might relent and forget to assign homework.

"I later learned that I wasn't the only one to get that letter," she laughed.

Monroe's creativity and his sense of humor stand out in her mind, said Donna Miller.

"It was no surprise that he and Howie Miller were joining the Marine Corps together and leaving the morning after graduation," said Pastor Mike Bradley.

"Evil people exist in this world, and Jeremy took his stand against evil by joining the Marine Corps," said another of his teachers, Doug Hayes.

A religious group that opposes the war, the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., had announced plans to picket the funeral, but didn't show up.

"When I talked with them, they told me it was a matter of logistics," said Chinook Police Chief Mark Weber.

"They said they were stretched too thin to deliver the resources to make their protest here," he said.

Nonetheless, the Patriot Guard, a group of Christian bikers — including Pastor J.T. Coughlan of Set Free Ministries in Great Falls — rode their motorcycles to Chinook to shield the family from the sights and sounds of any protesters.

It was a simple ceremony, carefully choreographed by Monroe, who wrote out his funeral wishes as a precaution during his last home leave in August, according to his father.

As part of the ceremony, Monroe's brothers and sisters released half a dozen white doves into the stormy skies. They hesitated for a moment, then flew straight down an alley and disappeared from sight.

Monroe's death was a tremendous blow to his family and friends.

"He was my hero, and I loved him," said his 12-year-old sister, Jordanne Southwick.

"He always looked out for me," she said. "He meant everything in the world to me."

When she got home from school, he'd be waiting to play chess with her or watch a movie.

"The key thing was spending time together," she added. "It didn't matter how stupid the movie was."

Her twin brother, D.J. Southwick, remembered his older brother teaching him how to ride a bike and helping him with homework.

Not that Monroe was that great a student. His 17-year-old brother Zach Gard remembers helping him cram for one last English test in his senior year that allowed him to slip through with a D-minus and graduate.

"We helped each other through anything and everything," said Gard. "He was my big brother and also my best friend."

No matter how bad his own day was, Gard said, his big brother could always make the people around him laugh.

"He could play music like no one else I've ever heard or probably ever will," Gard added. "He loved his music and his poetry, and he was good at them both."

Monroe's 16-year-old sister Danielle Gard remembered him as a "great big brother. He always stood up for me, was there for me."

But he didn't want to go to Iraq, she said.

"He didn't really want to go to into the Marine Corps, but he did it because he didn't want to look like he was wimpy," said Danielle Gard.

Monroe was sent to Afghanistan, then served briefly in Iraq before he was killed by a sniper bullet to the head a week ago.

News of his brother's death stunned Zach Gard.

"I didn't know what to feel," he said. "I just took off running. I ran across town to his best friend's house and told him.

"He just lost it, just started crying," said Zach Gard. "And so did I — I lost it too."

From the Great Falls Tribune

Related Link:
Friends recall Jeremy Monroe

Related Link:
Jeremy S. Sandvick Monroe slain by sniper on 2nd tour of duty