Thomas Gilbert laid to rest

Marine Sgt. Thomas Gilbert talked of one day riding his Harley-Davidson to the Grand Canyon. And he cracked up friends using a bad Irish accent to try to win the hearts of young women at a bar.

But Gilbert, killed Oct. 25 in Anbar province in Iraq, also was remembered Thursday as being a caring soul, never too old to rest his head in his mother's lap.

More than 500 family members and friends filled Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Downers Grove for the funeral of the 24-year-old serviceman killed on his second tour of duty. He was due to return in mid-April.

Outside the Main Street church in the blustery, winter-like conditions were about four dozen Patriot Riders, a biker group that attends military funerals to honor fallen service members and to protect families from protesters.

The crowd inside the church was silent until a lone bagpipe played, setting off sobs.

The Lee Greenwood song "God Bless the U.S.A." was sung as Marines escorted Gilbert's American flag-draped coffin into the church. A white funeral pall then replaced the flag.

"The thing that Tommy learned early on ... he was part of something bigger than himself," said Rev. Michael R. Rothaar, senior pastor at Gloria Dei, referring first to Gilbert's close-knit family, then to his chosen path as a Marine.

After the service, mourners traveled south on Main Street in a procession led by the Patriot Riders. They drove 38 miles to the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood. Along the way, strangers paid solemn tribute from the roadside. Among them was a group of children from Puffer Elementary School in Downers Grove, who stood with their hands over their hearts.

A 2000 graduate of Downers Grove North High School, Gilbert had been a marketing major at Western Michigan University. He joined the Marine Reserve in September 2000, and his unit--Company A, First Battalion 124th--was based out of Grand Rapids, Mich.

Friendships figured prominently in his life.

"When his buddy didn't have the right shoes to get in a bar, he sat on the street with him," Rothaar said.

Finding "his place" as a Marine, Gilbert was often among the first to assist other Marines in peril as a member of a rapid response team, the pastor said.

Gilbert was passionate about the outdoors. He enjoyed water skiing, wakeboarding and fishing with his grandfather. He also loved to hunt. A friend from high school said he once helped stalk a mountain lion for four or five days. He then offered her mountain lion stew.

From the Chicago Tribune

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