Tyler Overstreet remembered

Under Wednesday's cobalt blue sky marked by slashes of high white clouds, two Middle Tennessee families tried to deal with a void that felt as big as the sky was broad.

On Monday, Marine Corps officers knocked on the doors of the Mertenses of Gallatin and the Buerstettas of Franklin. It was their regret to inform the families of the deaths of Lance Cpl. Tyler R. Overstreet, 22, and Lance Cpl. Richard A. Buerstetta, 20.

The young men were killed Sunday while on duty in the Al Anbar province of Iraq. Overstreet's family said they were told he died when an improvised explosive device detonated near an armored truck in which the lance corporal was a passenger.

Because both men are from the same unit, the 3rd Battalion of the 24th Marine Regiment, it is believed they were in the truck together.

A distraught Paul Mertens, Overstreet's stepfather, sat in a lawn chair Wednesday in front of his home, finding it difficult to remember what day it was.

It was a beautiful fall afternoon that would probably have tempted Tyler to reach for his golf clubs and get in a quick nine holes of his favorite sport.

Mertens sat in the sun, trying to remember everything that made his stepson special, trying to get it right.

"He was a prankster. If he could initiate something, he would initiate it," Mertens said with a lopsided smile. Not major mischief, just "boys being boys."

"But he was also the kind that if you asked for the shirt off his back, he would probably give it to you. He was loving, caring. He didn't have a bad bone in his whole body.

"He was a great kid."

What will he miss most' Tears form in the man's brown eyes.

"My son ... my friend. That's about all I can say," he said, using the palm of his hand to wipe the salty tears from his cheeks.

Joining the Marine Corps was a dream for Overstreet and Buerstetta.

Buerstetta joined the Marine Reserve after graduation from Franklin High in 2004. He was a student at Middle Tennessee State University when he was called to active duty.

"He was a grade ahead of me in school, but I remember him.

"He loved to be in the Marines. That was where he wanted to be," said Jack Walton Jr., a student at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Overstreet joined the Marine Reserve in the summer of 2005.

Several years ago, not too long after Mertens married Tyler's mother, the young man asked his stepfather's advice about such a career choice.

"I said if that's your dream, follow your dream. I followed mine through life, and mine worked out for the best," Mertens said.

About a year after graduating from Gallatin High School, class of 2004, Overstreet became a Marine. In September 2005, he graduated from boot camp at Parris Island.

The lance corporals were assigned to a Michigan Reserve unit and, after weeks of desert training in California, were deployed to the Middle East.

Overstreet's family said he was deployed on Sept. 25, three days after his 22nd birthday.

On Sept. 27, Overstreet's girlfriend, Misty McQuery, gave birth to the Marine's son.

"He never got to see him," Mertens said. The baby, Ashton, could be heard crying inside the family's home. It was feeding time.

No one saw this coming.

"Not this quick. We know what it's like. We all see the news, but I sure didn't expect it ... sure didn't want it," said Mertens, wiping away more tears.

"My question is how many more? How many more is it going to take to stop it? That's all the question I have. How many more?

"I understand what they're fighting for in a way, but how many more? I don't want anyone else to have the same knock on the door that we've had."

The bodies have not yet been returned for burial. Family members said there would be a delay of several days before the remains are returned to the States.

The Buerstetta family said their son's funeral service will be held in St. Matthew Catholic Church on Sneed Road in Franklin. He will be buried in Middle Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery on McCrory Lane.

The Mertenses said they are planning to have their Marine's services in a funeral home in Gallatin, with interment in Crestview Cemetery there.

Mertens said the last time he heard from his stepson was when Tyler called one night last week after returning from a patrol. It was 4 a.m. his time.

"He was tired and cold and hungry," the stepfather said.

He hoped to hear from Tyler after this week's Monday Night Football game between the Dallas Cowboys, Tyler's favorite team, and the New York Giants, the stepfather's favorite.

"My first thought was that if the Giants don't win, he's going to be all over me, and if they do win, I'll be over him," Mertens said.

The Giants won 36-22.

But the grieving family lost with a knock on the door.

From the Tennesean

Related Link:
Tyler R. Overstreet killed in combat