| Dustin Lee Sides | ||||||||
| Yakima, Washington | ||||||||
| May 31, 2004 | ||||||||
| ||||||||
| Died from hostile fire in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. |
'The War's Hit Home' -- Dustin Sides Laid to Rest
By ED STOVER
and MARK MOREY
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC
Three rifle volleys — crack, crack, crack — fired by seven Marines in full dress uniform.
The 24 golden notes of "Taps" being mournfully played.
The red, white and blue stars and stripes of two American flags being slowly folded and presented, one to each parent.
A dozen white doves flashing as one across a sun-drenched green lawn, then wheeling upward into a brilliant blue sky.
With those lasting images, an estimated 400 relatives, friends, comrades and admirers gathered Saturday morning at Yakima's Tahoma Cemetery to bid farewell to U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dustin Lee Sides.
Sides, 22, is the Yakima Valley's first casualty of the war in Iraq. He was killed in an ambush May 31, Memorial Day, while returning from a mission to Fallujah, one of the hot spots of the war.
That conflict seemed suddenly much closer Saturday morning as nearly 100 Marines, some of them Iraq war veterans, performed the solemn ritual of burying their fallen comrade as Sides' friends and family looked on.
"It's our responsibility as Marines," said Gunnery Sgt. David Gregory, who led the detail of seven pallbearers who bore Sides' flag-draped coffin the 200 feet from a silver Keith & Keith Funeral Home hearse to his final resting place adjacent to the Yakima Valley Veterans Memorial, which overlooks the military section at Tahoma.
Gregory, an adviser to the Marine Corps Reserve's Bravo Company, 4th Tank Battalion in Yakima, said he and his men had practiced all week for Saturday's 45-minute ceremony. "It's how we take care of our own," he said.
"... And Dustin did love the Marine Corps," Rear Adm. Darold Bigger told Sides' mother and father, Wendy Billings and John Sides, who sat facing the grave site with other family members and close friends.
Bigger, of Walla Walla, is deputy chief of Navy chaplains for U.S. Naval Reserve matters for the United States. He officiated at the ceremony, which also included the presentation of the Purple Heart Medal, the Good Conduct Medal and the National Defense Service Medal to Sides' parents.
Bigger, a pastor in civilian life who teaches religion at Walla Walla College, said he travels all over the country as part of his reserve duties, and he visited Iraq last summer.
"These young men and women do us proud," he declared following the ceremony, referring to the Marines at the ceremony and the military personnel he sees elsewhere.
"Most people I see wherever I go are grateful we're there (Iraq). It's a very small number who create the kind of sensations you hear about in the news." One who attended Saturday's burial service who expressed gratitude was William Craven, who with his wife Virginia made the journey all the way from Roslyn. The Cravens know what it's like to lose a loved one; their son, Tom, 30, was one of four U.S. Forest Service firefighters to die in the Thirtymile Fire on July 10, 2001.
"I just saw it (funeral notice) in the paper and we thought we'd attend," said Craven. "Everybody should be here. It's because of him (Sides) that we can stay home and be safe."
Craven surveyed a photo display of Sides at various stages of his life that stood near the grave site. He shook his head.
"Another young kid gone," he said. "It's a long way down here, but it's worth it. After all, he (Sides) went a long way for us."
There were those, too, who expressed frustration with a war that has now spilled the blood of a native son.
"It's nonsense," said Frank Beard, 78, a World War II Navy veteran who served in the South Pacific and is immediate past commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 379.
"It's different now," said Beard, who was attending with another veteran, Herbert Matsen, 78, who also served in the South Pacific. "They don't fight to win anymore, just to pacify. When we went in, we went to win, to whip their fannies. This is nonsense."
"But we're here on behalf of our post to pay our respects to this young fellow."
Kathy Garlock, a friend of Sides' mother, said it's a "terribly difficult time" for Wendy Billings and John Sides and their surviving children. She said she supports the troops in Iraq.
"That's not to say I'm particularly happy with the situation — anything that kills our children is not a good thing," she said.
Garlock's husband, Duane, a Vietnam veteran, said he, too, supports the troops. In some ways, though, the situation in Iraq is worse than Vietnam, he said, because the troops are so vulnerable.
"Me? I'd rather fight in the jungle. This (Iraq), it's so difficult to see the end of it. But we've got to support our people there."
One woman who came, Paige Olney-Hammond of Wiley City, presented the family with an eagle feather wrapped at the base with red, white and blue beads. Olney-Hammond, whose husband is serving his second tour in Kuwait with the Navy, said she felt the feather honored Sides' service.
"He gave his life for all of us. He gave his life for our children," said Olney-Hammond, whose 4-year-old son, Tanner, had Nancy Sides (Sides' stepmother) as a teacher's aide. "He gave the ultimate sacrifice."
Olney-Hammond said Saturday's funeral magnified the scary prospect that her own husband might not return alive.
"The war's hit home. It's a reality check," she said.
Yakima resident Saul Chacon, a former Marine sergeant who left the service last year after spending six months in Iraq, said he considered Sides' fate next to his own. "I've been thinking about that all day," Chacon said at a reception after the funeral at Eisenhower High School, where Sides went to school.
"It's kind of weird. I can't explain it," Chacon said, noting that the environment around Fallujah has grown even more tense and violent since he left.
Tesa Peterson, 23, of Yakima said Sides' youth added an extra element to her feelings about his death.
Peterson and Sides knew each other from when they attended Wilson Middle School. She last saw him at a party before he headed off to boot camp.
"It makes me sad to think about how young he was, but it sounds like he was having fun being over there, so that was important to him," Peterson said.
By all accounts, Sides did enjoy the service, even his time in Iraq, where he served with the 9th Communication Battalion from last February until he was killed. He drove a specialized wrecker that was used to keep the battalion's equipment on the move in difficult places.
"He was willing to take the risks," said Bigger at the funeral.
"He had that look of happiness, of joy, of excitement," said Master Sgt. Kevin Berry, who was Sides' motor transport chief and is stationed at Camp Pendleton in California. Berry was one of several Marines from Camp Pendleton who attended Saturday's service.
Not that Sides was oblivious to the danger he was in. John Sides said his son had arranged beforehand for his younger sister, Katie, to receive part of his life insurance toward her education in case of his death.
"He didn't want his sister going into the military to get money for school," Sides said.
In brief comments Friday, Sides also repeated his gratitude for the support shown to his family.
"I can't thank them enough," Sides said. "What this community has said and done for my family — and the biggest thing is the honor for my son — is just unbelievable."
Trying to keep track of those to thank became impossible after the list of names he was making grew to six pages long, he said.
Notes of sympathy have poured in from across Washington, Oregon and California, among other states. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, even sent a letter.
A Tribute to Dustin Sides
U.S. Marine Corps Master Sgt. Kevin Berry flew up with several other Marines from Camp Pendleton, Calif., to attend the funeral of Lance Cpl. Dustin Lee Sides on Saturday. At the funeral, Berry read the following tribute, which he said he was moved to write Friday after meeting with members of Sides' family:
To Dustin:
When you checked in to the unit, I knew you were different — you had that look in your eye, that look of happiness, joy and excitement.
And I said to myself, "What is it about this young man? How can he smile when there's so much he doesn't know? So much more he needs to see, and, as a Marine, he must grow."
But that's how Dustin lived — happy to not know.
Dustin taught me to seize the day! Take a chance on love, friendship and life. So because of you, Dustin, I'm a better husband, father and Marine master sergeant.
I'll live each day to the fullest. Yes, each and every one. Just like my brother Dustin, not knowing if tomorrow will come.
God bless all your family and friends.
Don't Let The Memory Of Them Drift Away, Honor it!!!
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