Army Pfc. Shane W. Cantu

Died August 28, 2012 Serving During Operation Enduring Freedom

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20, of Corunna, Mich.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Caserma Ederle, Vicenza, Italy; died Aug. 28 in Charkh, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he was hit by shrapnel.

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Remains of Corunna soldier return from Afghanistan

The Associated Press

CORUNNA, Mich. — The remains of a 20-year-old Michigan soldier killed in Afghanistan are back on American soil, where friends and teachers remembered him Thursday as an upbeat team player with a smile that “lit up the room.”

The body of Army Pfc. Shane Cantu of Corunna arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Thursday morning, with a military honor guard on hand to carry the flag-draped coffin.

The Corunna High School graduate died Tuesday after insurgents threw an explosive over a base wall, Cantu’s former football coach, Mark Sullivan, told Mlive.com. Cantu was a three-year starter at the mid-Michigan high school.

“He’s the hardest working kid I’ve ever coached,” Sullivan told The Argus-Press of Owosso. “He was a winner — in more ways than just winning or losing a game. ... He gave everything his all, and everybody wanted to follow him. That’s just who he was. He had a heart of gold, and his smile lit up the room.”

Cantu had been stationed in Germany and Italy before transferring to Afghanistan a month before he was killed, said Jake Lumsden, a 2009 Corunna High School graduate.

Lumsden said he and Cantu became close friends in high school, playing football and basketball together.

“I was just shocked. I couldn’t believe it at first,” Lumsden said. “I just sat there a while and thought of all the good times we had together. I’m sorely going to miss him.”

Lumsden said Cantu told him he joined the military because “he loved being part of a team. He tried playing football in college but that didn’t work out so he joined the Army. That’s what he really wanted to do.”

Survivors include his mother, Jennifer Clarke, stepfather Mike Clarke, twin sister, Shanel, and sisters Shiann, Jordyn and Breann.

Army Spc. Ryan Friedrichs, a friend of Cantu’s, is married to ex-Michigan secretary of state candidate Jocelyn Benson. Benson said her husband informed her of Cantu’s death from Afghanistan.

Cantu and Friedrichs went through airborne training and deployed together, Benson said.

Cantu’s death was “a heartbreaking, devastating loss,” she told The Associated Press.

Funeral set for soldier killed in Afghanistan

The Associated Press

CORUNNA, Mich. — A funeral is planned at Corunna High School for a 20-year-old graduate who was killed while serving in Afghanistan.

The body of Army Pfc. Shane Cantu of Corunna arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware last week, with a military honor guard on hand to carry the flag-draped coffin.

Visitation is 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Nelson-House Funeral Home in Owosso. The service is 5 p.m. Monday at the school's Nick Annese Field.

Details of the funeral service were reported Wednesday by The Flint Journal.

Cantu's ex-football coach has said he died Aug. 28 after insurgents threw an explosive over a base wall.

Cantu had been stationed in Germany and Italy before transferring to Afghanistan a month before he was killed.
 

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US flags ordered at half-staff for fallen soldier

The Associated Press

CORUNNA, Mich. — U.S. flags within the state Capitol Complex in Lansing and at state buildings, grounds and facilities throughout Michigan will be lowered Monday to half-staff in honor of Army Pfc. Shane Cantu.

The order was given by Gov. Rick Snyder, who said in a statement that Cantu "will forever be remembered as a hero by the community of Corunna and the entire Great Lakes State."

Cantu, 20, of Corunna, died Aug. 28 of shrapnel wounds after insurgents threw an explosive over a base wall in Afghanistan, where he was stationed.

He was a member of the Army 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team. He had been stationed in Germany and Italy before transferring to Afghanistan a month before he was killed.

A 3-year starter on the Corunna High School football team, Cantu graduated in 2010 and attended Adrian College before joining the Army.

Visitation has been scheduled for 2 to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at Nelson-House Funeral Home in Owosso. Cantu's funeral will be held at 5 p.m. Monday at Corunna High School.

Michigan residents, businesses, schools, local governments and other organizations also are encouraged to display the flag at half-staff beginning Monday. Flags will be returned to full-staff Wednesday.

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Soldier funeral on football field where he played

The Associated Press

CORUNNA, Mich. — Friends and family of a 20-year-old Michigan paratrooper turned out to honor him at the high school football field where he once played.

Army Pfc. Shane Cantu of Corunna died Aug. 28 from wounds sustained in an insurgent attack in Afghanistan.

His funeral service was Monday at Corunna High School, where Cantu was a starter on the football team. He graduated in 2010 and later attended Adrian College.

He’s buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Vernon.

Cantu had been stationed in Germany and Italy, transferring to Afghanistan a month before his death.

Mlive.com reported that Cantu’s mother, Jennifer Clarke, said her son was “smart, caring” and quick to make his family laugh when they needed it.

Gov. Rick Snyder ordered U.S. flags in Michigan lowered Monday in Cantu’s honor.