Muskogee Marine Laid To Rest

Saturday, March 10th 2007, 5:15 pm

By: News On 6

Family and friends gather to say goodbye to a Muskogee Marine killed in a car accident. Lance Corporal Geoffrey Fisher died February 24th when the truck he was riding in veered off a California highway. Family members say as tough as it was to lose Geoffrey in a car crash after he served a year in Iraq; it was even more difficult for the family to finally lay him to rest. The News On 6â€™s Chris Wright reports some unwelcome guests showed up at the funeral.

As promised, members of the Westboro Baptist Church showed up to protest at U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Fisher's funeral. But the Patriot Guard, who arrived to shield Geoffrey's family from the protestors, simply turned their back on them, and so did everyone else.

"It's nice to see the motorcyclists and everyone just step-up, because I didn't see any protestors at all," said Fisherâ€™s stepbrother Harold Lewis.

"It's a little disheartening, but we just don't give them any credence or attention and just turn our backs to them, and just make sure our focus is on the family and our fallen hero," Kerri Hamilton with the Patriot Guard said.

And the focus was on Geoffrey, the 20-year-old was a decorated Marine who survived a year in Iraq. He killed last month when his best friend fell asleep at the wheel while the two were on leave from Camp Pendleton. After the funeral, the Patriot Guard led the procession to Floral Haven Cemetery in Broken Arrow. Family members say the ceremony was more than they had hoped for.

â€œWhat they did was beautiful and outstanding. I think Geoffrey is looking down, he is in awe," said Fisherâ€™s stepsister Twyla Yets.

His family says becoming a U.S. Marine was a life-long dream. But Fisher was also an aspiring biker, so while painful, the family says Saturday's ceremony was the perfect way to say goodbye.

"The kids used to play war in the backyard all the time, and build forts and dig foxholes and stuff, so he always wanted to be a Marine," Geoffreyâ€™s stepmother Sharon Fisher said.

Lance Corporal Geoffrey Fisher was a decorated Marine; in only one tour of duty in Iraq he received the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, and National Defense Medal.

A second memorial service will be held for Geoffrey next week at Camp Pendleton, where he was training for his second tour in Iraq.