Shelby Feniello laid to rest

BULLSKIN TWP. - A final salute to a courageous soldier, beloved son and treasured friend was offered by hundreds of mourners who gathered Saturday for his funeral.

U.S. Marine Pfc. Shelby J. Feniello, who was killed Oct. 9 when a roadside bomb exploded as he and two other Marines were rushing to help their fellow soldiers on the Iraqi battlefield, was too young to see the things that he had seen and much too young to die, said Graham Williams.

Williams said that he was representing his son John, a fellow U.S. Marine and friend of Feniello's still serving in Iraq, at the service held at the Pennsville Baptist Church.

"Shelby built a bridge of eternal significance, based on love, and we are here today to honor that," he said. "Shelby was a testimony to a young man's courage and a young man's love."

As nearly 100 U.S. flags waved in the cool morning breeze, held as many veterans of past wars and others who wanted to pay respect to the fallen hero stood outside along the roadway, the Rev. Dr. Terry V. Murray recalled the young man he had watched transform from a boy into a U.S. Marine.

"When he shared with me that he was going to Iraq, I remember taking him aside and telling him he was going there for a couple of reasons," said Rev. Murray. "I told him that it was for a cause that was higher, nobler and bigger than he was; and so that he would get to know God better."

When the young soldier attended church services in early September, Rev. Murray said that he saw a change in the young man.

"He took life more seriously," he said. "He had more direction, focus and purpose."

Feniello, a 1999 graduate of Connellsville Area High School, enlisted in the Marines in May 2004 and returned Sept. 10 for a second tour of duty in Iraq.

Rev. Murray said that he did not anticipate the telephone call just a few weeks later that had alerted him to the soldier's death.

"Shelby came home in a way I did not expect," he said as he pointed to the flag-draped coffin in front of him. "But I expect to see Shelby again."

Rev. Murray told the mourners that it is difficult to understand why tragedies happen and why God would allow a 25-year-old to lose his life.

"Why doesn't God stop some of the bad things that come into our lives?" he said. "Why all the confusion and the chaos?"

The answer, said Rev. Murray, lies in God's unknown plan, and all must rely on their faith to see them through the difficult times.

"Faith in the final analysis is trusting someone you know, even if you don't know what they are doing," he said.

As the funeral procession traveled to Green Ridge Memorial Park, many residents stood along the route holding flags.

As they had done during the two days of viewing and at the church services, the Patriot Guard Riders again marked the path with the Stars and Stripes.

According to Bud Roberts, ride captain, the service drew participants from across Pennsylvania and from Ohio, West Virginia and New York.

The state group is part of the national organization formed last year in Kansas after protestors began appearing at funerals being held for soldiers.

"We are here to honor Pfc. Feniello and to pay respect to his family," said Dan Bright, state captain, adding that no protestors had attended the services.

The Patriot Guard Riders were joined by the Connellsville Veterans Commission, the American Legion Riders, members of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, Company B, 1st Battalion, 103rd Armor unit based in Connellsville Township and Connellsville Area High School students at the graveside services.

As the strains of taps echoed through the cemetery and the gunfire from the 21-gun salute broke the somber silence, Feniello's family was presented with the Purple Heart he had been awarded by the U.S. Marine Corps.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends," whispered an unidentified man.

From the Herald Standard

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