Michael Scholl remembered at memorial

A sign in front of Holy Savior Lutheran Church read Semper Fi, Always Faithful.

A few dozen people stood along 10th and Superior streets bearing flags to greet mourners.

Lance Cpl. Michael David Scholl grew up in this northwest end of Lincoln. Years ago, he attended this church at the invitation of his friend and fellow Marine, Jason Hilker.

Scholl was killed by a roadside bomb in Haditha, Iraq, last Tuesday. He was the 36th soldier with Nebraska ties to die in the Middle East since Sept. 11.

And on Monday, friends, family and at least a dozen men in Marine Corps dress uniforms gathered to tell him goodbye.

Scenes from Scholl’s life were captured in a slide show and photos displayed on a table.

A slide of Scholl and his wife Melissa, beaming with joy, their faces pressed together so tightly that his blue eyes seem to run into hers.

A photo of Scholl on his 21st birthday, taken last May between his tour in Afghanistan and a second deployment to Iraq.

Scholl with his ear to a pint glass, leaning in toward his wife’s pregnant abdomen as if to listen to the baby. A smile on his teasing face.

Friends and family cried when they saw the infant daughter Scholl never got to meet, Addison Rose, with her face as sweet and perfect as a pale, pink rosebud.

The service began with a color guard and a welcome by the Rev. Robert Swearer, who said it was “a Thanksgiving” for the life of Scholl.

And he introduced Master Sgt. Robert Busto, who came from Hawaii on behalf of the Third Regiment.

The Marines have pride, Busto said, and a sense of purpose. Scholl was part of that, he said.

He told them of the grieving soldiers stationed back in Hawaii, where the Scholls had lived during their marriage.

“We say you are married to the Marine Corps first,” he told the young wife. “But let me tell you last week, you were in the thoughts of everybody there.”

A soloist sang “You Are My Sunshine,” a tune Scholl’s mother had sung to him when he was a boy. And the Rev. Swearer said, “You see Michael in the sunshine, and he is waiting there for you.”

The family was presented with a flag that had flown in Fallujah.

The soldiers said goodbye with taps and a volley of shots.

Another service will be held in Vancouver, Wash., where Scholl’s widow has moved to be near family.

And Scholl will be remembered by those far away as well, those in his unit and knew him as a soldier.

Ed Darack, a freelance photographer, was embedded with Scholl’s platoon in the mountains of Afghanistan in October 2005.

“It was a horrific place,” he said.

But Scholl helped him, giving him anti-malaria pills from his own supply and introducing him to the Afghans he had befriended.

The two became friends and Scholl showed up in many of his photographs. The two kept in touch and saw each other in Hawaii and California over the past year.

As many now know, Scholl worked hard to recover from knee surgery so he could be deployed in September, though his baby girl was due less than a month later.

“He was very good at what he did,” Darack said. “He was smart and tough and dedicated. The best of the best.”

Darack was looking forward to seeing his friend when he travels to Iraq next month. He still has the telephone number programmed in his phone. Now, that won’t happen.

“I see the name Mike Scholl and it’s just a shock. It makes you stop breathing for a second,” he said. “I just can’t emphasize what a wonderful human being he was.”

From the Journal Star

Related Link:
Michael Scholl remembered

Related Link:
Michael D. Scholl dies from combat wounds