Marine Lance Cpl. Brian Rory Buesing

Died March 23, 2003 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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20, of Cedar Key, Fla.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed in action near Nasiriyah, Iraq.

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When Brian Buesing graduated from Cedar Key High School in Florida in 2000, there were only 26 kids in the senior class. But even in a larger school, Buesing would have stood out. “He was very outgoing, the center of attention,” said Sarah Campbell, 21, a former classmate. “He always made me laugh.”

The flag in front of the school flew at half-staff March 25. Local kids from kindergarten through 12th grade all attend the same school. Buesing’s sister, Ariele, is an eighth-grader. Her classmates were busy making sympathy cards.

“It really hits home. We’re so sad for his family, but people here are very proud that he would choose to stand in harm’s way for them,” said Maurice Healy, guidance counselor at the school.

“They’re still in shock,” friend Angie Doty said about the family. “It’s just beginning to sink in.”

Buesing, 20, was raised by his stepfather, Roger Steve, who repairs boat engines. “He’s worked on my motors and probably half the town’s,” said clammer E.G. Christiansen. “His dad was really proud of Brian.”

Buesing liked to crack jokes, even finding humor in Shakespeare’s Hamlet during senior English at Cedar Key High. Handsome and gregarious, he liked everyone to have a good time, pulling all the wallflowers onto the dance floor at a school function. From his sophomore year in high school, he knew he wanted to be a Marine, his guidance counselor said. After graduation, he traveled to the nearest recruiting office, about 45 miles away in Chiefland, Fla., to enlist.

“He was an all-American kind of guy. Just the boy next door,” Doty said.

— Associated Press