Week of Grief Tears at Ohio Communities

By DAN SEWELLAssociated Press Writer
August 19, 2005, 4:02 PM EDT

WEST CHESTER, Ohio -- For days, this suburb and other Cincinnati-area communities have been dominated by grief and searing images of loss -- flag-draped caskets, solemn Marine honor guards, anguished parents and loved ones.

On Saturday, the funeral of Marine Cpl. David Kreuter here concludes an eight-day series of vigils, memorial services and funerals in southwest Ohio for five Marines killed in an Aug. 3 roadside bombing, among 16 Ohio-based Marines killed in Iraq in the same week.

It's like one long funeral that doesn't end," said Peggy Logue, whose son Michael is still in Iraq with the hard-hit Lima Company. "It's very hard. It's painful."

She and her husband Jerry have been regulars at the services, wearing T-shirts of the Columbus-based company, which included 11 of the 16 slain soldiers.

The little city of Fairfield's celebration of its 50th anniversary this summer has been tempered by the loss of three past residents in less than four months, the most recent Marine Lance Cpl. Michael Cifuentes, 25, who was buried Monday. "

It's been devastating for our community," said Steven Miller, acting mayor of the city of some 43,000 people 20 miles northwest of Cincinnati. "You hear about these things, but when it's your own, it really brings it a lot closer."

He said the series of deaths -- Marine Lance Cpl. Taylor Prazynski, 20, was killed in Iraq in May and Army Pfc. Timothy Hines, 21, died July 14 -- has meant a time of extended grief for Fairfield unlike anything he can remember. Thousands-strong turnouts have greeted processionals bringing the bodies home. "

It hurts, but I think everybody has shown their support," Miller said. "We wholeheartedly stand behind all our men and women in the military." An expert on grief who has worked with survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks says such events bring people together, but also can wear people down. "

It ripples out and stirs up really strong compassion and identification with a broader community," said Al Siebert, the Portland, Ore.-based director of the Resiliency Center. "Even though they may not know the families personally, it is a community response."

The effect on local attitudes about the war is not yet clear. In a recent AP-Ipsos poll, President Bush's approval on handling Iraq was at 38 percent. A Gallup Poll suggested that nearly six in 10 wanted some or all U.S. troops to be withdrawn.

"Unfortunately, for non-military people, I think there can be more resentment and anger," said Joan Barnett of Reading. "For the military families, it brings you together. It solidifies the sense of duty and sacrifices."

Her husband, Master Sgt. Dennis Barnett, served in Iraq and was a pallbearer at the Wednesday memorial service here for Lance Cpl. Christopher Dyer of Evendale. Their sons, ages 21 and 19, are also both Marines

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