Army Spc. Dwayne J. McFarlane Jr.

Died January 9, 2005 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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20, of Cass Lake, Minn.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y. killed Jan. 9 when his dismounted patrol was hit by an improvised explosive device in Baghdad.

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Fort Drum soldier killed by roadside bomb near Baghdad

Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS — Spc. Dwayne James McFarlane Jr. had seen soldiers die all around him in Iraq, but he put on a brave face for the aunt and uncle who raised him.

“He knew, he understood the dangers,” his uncle, Don Bellanger, said Monday. “He was aware of them, but he was always on the upbeat. He’d say, ‘Don’t worry about me.”’

McFarlane, 20, of Cass Lake, was on foot near Baghdad on Sunday when a roadside bomb went off, Pentagon spokesman Khalid Walls said. McFarlane, the 11th Minnesota soldier to die in military operations in Iraq, was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), at Fort Drum, N.Y.

Walls didn’t immediately have details of the attack.

“(They) said Dwayne died instantly and didn’t suffer, which made me feel a little better because I was very worried about that,” Bellanger said. “I kept thinking back to when he was a little boy and he would come to me when he was hurt.”

Bellanger began raising McFarlane when he was 6 years old, after his parents gave him up, Bellanger said.

He said McFarlane joined the Army to get money for college. “He liked school,” Bellanger said. He said after the military McFarlane wanted to move to California for college, maybe to learn to work on computers or design cars. “That’s what he was striving for,” Bellanger said.

“He never did ... drugs, he was very respectful to all races. He never criticized anybody,” Bellanger said.

McFarlane graduated from Cass Lake-Bena High School in 2002, where he participated in track and was a member of the 2000-01 basketball team that went to the state tournament. The school observed a moment of silence Monday for McFarlane and lowered flags to half-staff.

Sue Chase, an English teacher at the school, recalled McFarlane’s leadership abilities and described McFarlane as a boy with a “little bit of mischief in him.”

Jennifer Voge, a guidance counselor at the school, described McFarlane as a well-liked, humorous student who had it together.

“Dwayne was somebody who always just did what he was supposed to do,” she said.

She didn’t specifically recall his decision to enter the Army, but did say, “He wanted to serve his country.”

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Family, friends honor Cass Lake soldier killed in Iraq

CASS LAKE, Minn. — Spc. Dwayne James McFarlane Jr. was remembered Tuesday as an honorable warrior during funeral services that contained a mix of military and native Ojibwe traditions.

“Gigawaabamin ishpiming. We will see you again in heaven. There is no word in our language for goodbye,” said John Rock, who officiated the funeral with the Rev. Harold Eaglebull.

McFarlane, 20, died Jan. 9 when a roadside bomb went off while he was on foot patrol near Baghdad.

The Cass Lake man was the 11th Minnesota soldier to die in military operations in Iraq. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), at Fort Drum, N.Y.

“The reason why we’re here is to show our final respect for Spc. Dwayne James Bellanger McFarlane, and to the family that is here. You can see that love, you can see that trust, that respect and the caring by his family — his larger family here,” Eaglebull said of the hundreds gathered at the gym at Cass Lake-Bena High School, where McFarlane graduated in 2002.

Eaglebull said McFarlane became a warrior in the modern way by joining the Army and serving his country.

Cass Lake American Legion 284 Chaplain Dan Gumphrey described McFarlane as “one of those men who came back in spirit. He is here. He is among us. He is in our hearts as we sit here to honor him.”

Brig. Gen. James L. Terry presented McFarlane’s aunt and uncle — who raised him since he was 6 years old — and his older brother with medals and keepsake boxes.

Leech Lake Honor Guard Member Kenny Perrault presented the family with a warrior’s eagle feather and an eagle feather tipped in red, to symbolize a wounded warrior.

— Associated Press