Marine Cpl. Tyler R. Fey

Died April 4, 2004 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

22, of Eden Prarie, Minn.; assigned to 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed April 4 by hostile fire in Anbar province, Iraq.

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Fallen Eden Prairie Marine laid to rest

Associated Press

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Hundreds of people filled Pax Christi Catholic Church to say goodbye to Tyler Fey, who was killed April 4 while serving his second tour of duty in Iraq.

A 2000 graduate of Richfield’s Academy of the Holy Angels, Fey became the fifth Minnesotan to die in Iraq.

Two more young Minnesota Marines died that week: Moises (Moy) Langhorst, 19, of Moose Lake and Levi Angell, 20, of Cloquet.

Marines carried Fey’s casket to his grave on Tuesday, then saluted him one last time with white-gloved hands. Then, as they walked away from the grave, they could bear their pain no longer. One by one, they knelt and let the tears flow.

Emotions ran raw everywhere people gathered to remember the 22-year-old Marine.

While the Rev. Doug Dandurand gently reminded the Feys that “Tyler loves you still from his place in heaven,” Fey’s older brother spoke forcefully in his eulogy, even as he lovingly remembered the deep talks they shared around campfires.

“I have so much anger and hatred for the Iraqi that fired the shot that took away my mother and father’s son and my little brother,” said Ryan Fey, 25, a medical student.

“I have so much anger for the politicians in Washington,” Fey added. Their policies “sent my brother on a second tour of Iraq after I thought he’d done his part in the initial invasion.”

Patriotic displays and photos filled the gathering area in front of the sanctuary, and many of those attending the funeral said the recent deaths strengthened their resolve to support the war.

“It would be a tragedy to quit halfway,” said Jackie Erickson, who knows Tyler Fey’s mother from work. “There’s people that died. We can’t give up now.”

Ryan Fey said he’ll forever feel a bond with his brother in the golden glow of a campfire.

“By my tears,” he said, “I’ll know you’re there.”