Christopher Esckelson remembered

VASSAR -- The Esckelson family is mourning the death of Marine Cpl. Christopher E. Esckelson in Iraq -- yet thankful the injuries to his second cousin, Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Ricky "Rick" E. Esckelson, aren't life-threatening.

Hero

"Chris always wanted to be a Marine," said his father, David E. Esckelson, 48, of Vassar.

Chris Esckelson lived for the Marine Corps motto of Semper Fidelis (Always Faithful. He had his own creed: Semper Auxiliarius (Always Helping), his father said.

"He eventually wanted to be a doctor and was saving money to become one," he said.

Meanwhile, Ricky Esckelson is mending while awaiting word whether he will recuperate in Germany or try to heal where he in Iraq, his family said.

Ricky Esckelson, who turns 54 on Thursday, is a former Marine who joined and retired from the Army Reserves before re-enlisting in the Army Reserves.

He suffered injuries, possibly Monday, in a mishap a few miles from where Chris Esckelson died, family members said.

Chris Esckelson died while helping fellow Marines -- killed by a direct hit to his torso from enemy fire in an intense firefight, his father said, relaying to The Saginaw News what military personnel told him.

"From what I was told, six went down," he said. "My son was a squad leader and was trying to help his men -- he was trying to get a fellow Marine to safety when he was hit. He was pronounced dead within three minutes of getting hit."

Serving with the 1st Battalion of the 24th Marines in Iraq, he died around 2:45 p.m. Wednesday, three days shy of his 23rd birthday.

David Esckelson was fishing Thursday on the banks of the Saginaw River with friends when he got a cell phone message that Marines were at his home looking for him.

"My heart just dropped," he said. "As a dad with a son in the Marines, that's what you always fear -- that the military will come.

"Well, they definitely came. There were five of them. They're quite a group."

David Esckelson's former wife -- Chris Esckelson's mother -- Michelle "Mitzi" M. Hill, 48, of Vassar, works as a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service and was on her mail route when she got a call from her co-workers.

"The military showed up at my house, where my mother is staying with us," Hill said.

"My mother told (the Marines) where I work, and they went there. The clerks there called me and asked where I was, saying they need to bring me something.

"I just knew it was bad news -- my mom or my son -- because there was nothing they had to bring me. So they came and got me."

Hill, in turn, broke the news to her son's girlfriend of three years, Samantha Reasner, 19, of Owosso.

"She was over (Thursday) night. She was a mess at first, but she's doing better now."

Hill said she didn't want her son to enlist.

"He wanted to earn money for college," she said. "We were worrying about what might happen.

"But he said, 'Nope, I want to be a Marine.' That was what he wanted.

"He was a very smart kid, I feel he could have gotten scholarships if he applied himself. But he said even if he graduated valedictorian, he still would have joined the Marines."

Chris Esckelson loved sports, she said. In high school, he was outfielder and catcher for the baseball team for four years, was defensive tackle on the football team for four years and played basketball for two years.

He was also an avid hunter, bagging deer and turkey and planned to go bear hunting with his father and brother, Craig E. Esckelson, 19.

The brothers have a sister, Kerry M. Esckelson, 17, a junior at Vassar High School. The family attends St. Michael's Lutheran Church in Richville.

Chris Esckelson graduated from high school in spring 2002 and in October joined the Marines, Hill said. In between, he took classes at Delta College.

He shipped over to Iraq at the end of September and was supposed to return in April.

For his birthday, today, his mother e-mailed him that she was going to treat him to dinner and shopping.

"I was going to take him to Zehnder's restaurant, where he worked as a waiter, and then to Abercrombie & Fitch (at Fashion Square Mall) to go clothes shopping, since he worked there, too," she said. "He always liked to look sharp.

"He was a go-getter, a leader. He was outgoing, was well-liked, had lots of friends and loved by lots of family," she said. "He believed in what he was doing. His proudest thing was to be a Marine."

Now, the family is making funeral arrangements.

Members plan to contact Martin Funeral Home in Vassar for services, with burial at Riverside Cemetery in Vassar.

"That's the trouble with the military," David Esckelson said. "They can send (my son) to the front lines in a day-and-a-half, but it takes seven to 10 days to bring him home.

"That's going to be a long seven to 10 days.

"He was a hero," his father said. "He was definitely a hero.

"He was more than a son; he was my best friend."

From the Saginaw News

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Christopher E. Esckelson killed during combat operations