Fallen Gentry Marine Honored

Marines carry the casket of U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Benjamin Tuttle from the church following Thursday’s funeral service at First Baptist Church in Gentry. Tuttle’s grandmother and adoptive mother, Faye Tuttle, weeps as she is escorted by Marine Sgt. Cheek, of Tulsa, Okla.

Marines carry the casket of U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Benjamin Tuttle from the church following Thursday’s funeral service at First Baptist Church in Gentry. Tuttle’s grandmother and adoptive mother, Faye Tuttle, weeps as she is escorted by Marine Sgt. Cheek, of Tulsa, Okla.

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

GENTRY - Residents of Gentry and people from near and far gathered Thursday at First Baptist Church in Gentry and along a flag-lined processional route from the church to the cemetery to say good-bye and pay their respects to Marine Lance Cpl. Benjamin Tuttle, 19, and to support his family as they mourn his death.

Thousands lined the processional route to salute and show their support for Tuttle and soldiers from all across America like him, who put their lives on the line to defend America’s freedoms.

Through the joint efforts of Larry “the flagman” Eckhardt, of northern Illinois, and local volunteers, more than 2,000 U.S. flags lined the processional route between the church and the cemetery. A huge flag was draped above Main Steet, suspended by a cable between the extended ladders of two of Gentry’s hook-and-ladder trucks. Highfill firefighters also suspended a large flag in Tuttle’s honor.

Lance Cpl. Benjamin W. Tuttle, 19, of Gentry, died July 14 at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center following a medical evacuation from the aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz (CVN 68), during a scheduled port visit in the 5th Fleet Area of Responsibility.

His death remains under investigation.

Tuttle was assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323, Marine Aircraft Group 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif. He was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Numerous soldiers from the area were present, in uniform, to honor Tuttle.

Tuttle’s youth minister, Donnie Millsap, spoke at Tuttle’s funeral and assured family members and friends by saying he was confident of Tuttle’s faith in His Savior. He also said Tuttle was proud to be serving in the Marine Corps.

When Tuttle came back from training, Millsap asked him, “Is it hard to be a Christian in the Marine Corps?” “Not, if you want to be,” was Tuttle’s reply, Millsap said.

Roger Robins, pastor at Highfill Baptist Church, compared Tuttle’s role as a soldier in the Marine Corps with his role as a soldier for Christ, saying this role required following orders, being faithful, familiar with his commander’s voice, a good fighter and aware of his enemies’ tactics, and a finisher. “Ben finished well,” he said.

Outside the church, Gary Holland, Sr., said Tuttle had spent a lot of time at his home and had worked for him at his dairy.

“When he started working for me,” Holland said, “He asked to have Wednesday nights off to go to church. It was important to him,” Holland said, saying that Tuttle was a member of the Baptist Church in Highfill.

Holland also told of the time when Tuttle volunteered to go out and get a container of milk for the house. Not yet knowing how to do it, he opened the wrong valve and ran a thousand gallons of milk down the drain.

“I teased him about that ever since,” Holland said. “It keeps a person alive to talk about memories like that,” Holland said.

Standing in front of the church, Daryl Knight, a retired law enforcement officer and assistant wrestling coach in Gentry, recalled Tuttle’s two years on the wrestling team, saying “he took third in state in his senior year, and he couldn’t even practice much because he had to work all the time.”

“He was a great young man, a pleasure to coach and a pleasure to be around,” Knight said with tears in his eyes. “ I’m grateful to him for being willing to defend the freedom of America,” he said.

Following the funeral service, Marines carried Tuttle’s casket to the waiting hearse and gave him one last salute before the procession left Gentry for Coffelt Cemetery, near Vaughn. Hats were removed and salutes given as the hearse made its way past the crowd.

News, Pages 1 on 07/31/2013