Matthew Dillon rememered

Three years ago Matt Dillon of Aiken earned a Purple Heart after being injured in Iraq during his deployment with the 122nd Engineer Battalion's Charlie Company in Graniteville. On Sunday night he was killed in Iraq while serving with a Marines unit.

Dillon's parents, Lucy and Neal Dillon, confirmed Tuesday that Dillon had died when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) hit the Humvee in which he was riding. They learned of his death Monday night.

A graduate of Wardlaw Academy, Dillon had joined the National Guard and was attending Augusta State University when his unit was activated. After the guardsmen returned in March 2004, Dillon left the unit and enlisted in the Marines. He was assigned to the MWSS 373rd.

His death has shaken the 122nd Battalion. For about four years Lucy and Neal have served as "mom and dad" for the unit.

While the unit was in Iraq, Lucy served as the family services coordinator – arranging Christmas parties, taking calls in the middle of the night from fearful family members. The unit honored Lucy and Neal as the Family of the Year.

Now the Dillons are getting support from their friends and relatives. On Tuesday Neal and Lucy greeted them, grieving with them and fondly reflecting on a young man who combined a free spirit with a fierce determination to succeed.

At Marine boot camp at Parris Island in Beaufort, Matt was in the middle of an 18-mile run when he began suffering from excruciating shin splints.

"He dragged himself the last nine miles anyway," said Neal with both pride and sadness etched on his face.

Undergoing additional training at Camp Lejune in Jacksonville, N.C., Matt broke his foot. But he wanted to complete the training with unit and simply didn't tell anyone about the injury.

Matt grew up in a military family. As a child Neal lived with the family of one of his sisters. His brother-in-law spent 17 months as an Air Force POW during World War II and weighed 90 pounds when he was released. Neal later wrote a book about his brother-in-law, who served as his surrogate father.

Neal also joined the Air Force and in the mid-1960s went on several bombing missions over Vietnam. He met Lucy in 1973 and she became stepmom to Robert, Neal's son from a previous marriage. Son Michael was born in 1976, and Matt was born four years later. He would have celebrated his 26th birthday later this month.

Robert joined the Army in 1989 "and his brothers idolized him," said Lucy. Michael enlisted in the Marines and served four years. He's now a police officer in Riverside, Calif. Robert, now a lieutenant colonel, was a major in 2003 when he and Matt were serving in Iraq at the same time. Robert was able to spend Christmas with Matt that year, an opportunity both described as one of the best holidays of their lives.

Don Henry, a deputy with the Aiken County Sheriff's Office, was a sergeant with the National Guard and was Matt's platoon leader in Iraq. He was a big brother to everyone there, including Matt.

At Midland Valley High School, where Henry is a school resource officer, he could barely control his emotions.

"You just don't know what it's like," he said of trying to cope with the news. "Matt was cocky, a free spirit, but I don't mean that in a bad way. He always had talked about active duty and wanted to excel. I have a picture of him, standing on the back of my truck in Iraq. When he went on leave to see his brother in Baghdad, he brought me back a national flag that had flown in Baghdad the previous day."

Two of Matt's close friends, Lewis Duncan and Derrick Turner, came by the Dillons' house Tuesday, which they consider their own home too. Duncan actually had gone to school with Matt's brother Michael and said with a smile that Matt "was the runt of the litter." But even as a kid, Matt was outgoing and smart and the older guys couldn't help but like him and want him around.

It turns out Matt was a darned good singer and was often asked to sing at family weddings. His friends suggested he try out for "American Idol." But Matt was born with a desire to serve his country, said Turner.

"His everyday life reflected on his military experience," he said.

Paula Scott took Lucy's place as the 122nd's family services coordinator. Her boyfriend, Bryan Baker, also was in the unit. She got to know Lucy and Neal in working with them during the deployment. When Matt and most of the other guardsmen arrived at Ft. Stewart, Ga., in March 2004, Bryan's flight was delayed until the next morning. Matt and his parents stayed with Scott all night.

Through her work as a teacher at Midland Valley Preparatory School, Scott had invited Lucy to visit during the deployment. They helped the kids write letters to Baker, who distributed them to Matt and other soldiers in the unit. When Scott arrived at school Tuesday morning after spending much of the night with the Dillons, her students knew immediately something was wrong.

"This is so heartwrenching," Scott said. "It's hard for me to believe that this is so close to home. But Matt's patriotism was important to him. He was so proud of what his brothers did."

Matt had been thinking about joining one of the military services for military police training while still in Iraq. He chose the Marines and signed up before telling his parents, so they couldn't try and talk him out of it. Matt told them that Neal was ready to retire and that he was tired of living off his folks.

When he talked with his parents by phone last Friday, he sounded so upbeat. He had just received a promotion, but his mission had changed, too. The patrols looking for IEDs were going further out from the base, 60 to 70 miles or more.

He had met a girl while stationed at Camp Pendleton in San Diego before heading to Iraq. She called the Dillons Tuesday and said she had talked with Matt Sunday. He talked and talked, mostly about his parents and his brothers and how much he appreciated and loved them.

Even while in Iraq, Matt was working online for a bachelor's degree. He was going to return in March and had been invited to apply for the Marine Helicopter Squadron that serves the White House. After his five-year military obligation, he was considering following his brother Michael and becoming a police officer.

"This is tragic," Neal said. "But we honor his memory. Matt did what he thought was the right thing for him. He was just the kind of kid that everybody loves. He'll always be here with us."

Dillon is the third Aiken County resident killed in Iraq. Algernon Adams of North Augusta died on Oct. 28, 2003, from a non-hostile gunshot wound. Jason Moski of Wagener was killed Feb. 25, 2005, when an explosion detonated near his patrol in Taji, Iraq.

From the Standard

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Matthew V. Dillon killed in combat