Mark Paine laid to rest

A strong, cold breeze blew through Arlington National Cemetery yesterday as family and friends of Army Capt. Mark C. Paine gathered to remember the fallen soldier from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

Paine, 32, died Oct. 15 from injuries suffered when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle in Taji, Iraq.

A marching band and horse-drawn caisson led the procession to gravesite No. 8434, Section 60, where rows of white headstones bear the names of service members killed in Iraq. Paine is the 271st person killed fighting in the war to be interred at Arlington.

He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, at Fort Hood, Texas.

Mourners shielded their eyes from the bright autumn sun as a firing party released a three-volley salute and a bugler played taps. Paine's older brother, Brandon, watched as his parents, Kairyn and Roger, accepted folded U.S. flags from a major general.

Last month, Paine's high school friends and teachers gathered in California to remember his infectious laugh and warm personality.

"He was a natural magnet for people and absolutely sincere. There was no guile," said Tom Ehrhorn, his high school principal. "He was just someone you wanted to be around. He had a very disarming way of making people feel like the most important person in the world at that moment, and people just warmed to him immediately."

Joining the military was a family tradition, friends said, and Paine entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point after graduating from Campolindo High School in Moraga, Calif., in 1993.

His 13-year military career took him to South Korea, Yugoslavia and Kosovo, and he was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

Barry Hearne, who served with Paine during his first deployment to Iraq in 2003, said that Paine will be remembered as a highly proficient infantry officer who was frequently called upon by his brigade commander to complete tasks.

"To characterize him as anything other than great would be wrong. . . . It is a loss to our nation to lose him as a leader," Hearne said.

Lt. Col. Dave Thompson, a commander who served with Paine in Iraq, left similar condolences in an online memory book.

"He was fearless and always in the thick of it with his men," Thompson wrote. "His legacy of bravery and professionalism lives on in his soldiers here in Iraq."

Paine frequently visited his home town, and he ran into Ehrhorn during a visit in 2000. He spoke enthusiastically about his work and his future with the military, Ehrhorn said.

"From all that he said to me, it exceeded his expectations. My impression was that he was absolutely certain that he had made the right choice," Ehrhorn said.

Ehrhorn said that Paine's death has had a profound effect on the Northern California community where he was raised. "We're feeling a great sense of loss, because there was so much more he could have given. He made a difference," Ehrhorn said.

Ehrhorn said that Paine was a devoted Christian, and members of his former congregation came out in large numbers to attend a recent church service to show their appreciation of his sacrifice.

"It's sad to lose someone who was so wonderful," he said.

From the Washington Post

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