Marine Lance Cpl. John T. Byrd II

Died October 30, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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23, of Fairview, W.Va.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii; killed Oct 30 by enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq.

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W.Va. Marine buried on Veterans Day

Associated Press

FAIRVIEW, W.Va. — A Marine from Fairview who was killed in Iraq last month was remembered for his courage and respect for others.

Lance Cpl. John Thomas Byrd II, 23, was buried by his family on Veterans Day with full military honors. Byrd was killed Oct. 30 along with seven other Marines by a suicide car bomb in Iraq.

Pastor Delas Stuzen, who remembered Byrd attending Noah’s Ark Assembly of God Church’s youth center and playing basketball with his friends, noted his kindness and bravery.

“I saw some qualities in that young man that were a little different,” he said. “He was quieter. He was a gentleman. He was a good guy.”

“Cpl. Byrd laid his life down to free a people he didn’t know.”

Byrd’s family was presented with a Purple Heart that Byrd earned for wounds received in action that resulted in his death.

Folded flags were presented to Byrd’s mother, Nan Byrd, and his wife, Jessica Byrd, who is due to give birth to their son in January.

Byrd’s father, John T. Byrd, said his son decided on his own to join the Marine Corps.

“He wanted to do something important,” he said. “He didn’t want to live the everyday life. He was a fighter.”