Andrew G. Riedel
Profile
Age: 19
From: Northglenn, Colo. .
Assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii
Incident: Marine Pfc. Andrew G. Riedel was killed Oct 30 by enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq.
Died: October 30, 2004
With tears and laughter, Coloradans say goodbye to Marine
By Catherine Tsai
Associated Press
WESTMINSTER, Colo. — Russ Montanio tearfully pulled his sheriff’s deputy badge from his uniform Monday and placed it atop the flag-draped coffin of his stepbrother, Marine Lance Cpl. Andrew Riedel.
Riedel, one of eight Marines killed 10 days ago when a car bomb exploded in Iraq, wanted to follow his stepbrother into the ranks of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department.
“Since you’ve never received a deputy’s badge of your own, you can have mine,” Montanio said, his voice breaking.
More than 600 people, including Gov. Bill Owens, filled a church to overflowing on Monday to honor Riedel, a 19-year-old with a ready smile.
Riedel, from Northglenn, was the latest of at least 50 service personnel and civilians with Colorado ties to die in Iraq. His death came as 7,000 soldiers from Fort Carson prepared for a second...