In a show of support fit for a dignitary, thousands of people
lined the streets of Gilroy on Sunday in tribute to fallen Marine
Jeramy Ailes, who was killed fighting in Iraq earlier this
month.
Gilroy – In a show of support fit for a dignitary, thousands of people lined the streets of Gilroy on Sunday in tribute to fallen Marine Jeramy Ailes, who was killed fighting in Iraq earlier this month.
The ladder of a Gilroy fire truck, draped with an American flag, framed the entrance to Gavilan Hills Memorial Park, where the Marine was laid to rest. Police estimate between 3,000 and 5,000 people lined the First Street approach to the gates.
“Going from the church to the cemetery was unbelievable,” said cousin and Airman First Class Aimee Santos, who escorted Ailes’ body to California from Dover Air Force Base. “I could not believe there were that many people out there. We knew there were going to be people out there, but never that many. It was very moving to see there were so many people that cared.”
Gino Oliveras, one of Ailes’ closest friends from Gilroy High School, said “it was amazing to see thousands of people out there. A lot of people didn’t know [Jeramy], but it was still good that people took time out of their day to show their support.”
The throng, which stretched a quarter mile from the gates of Gavilan Hills Memorial Park past Westwood Drive, included flag-waving Boy Scouts, bikers, and many friends wearing white T-shirts depicting Ailes in his trademark cowboy hat and white T-shirt.
“I think it’s important to come out and show support,” said Gilroy resident Richard Patereau, a former Marine who fought in Vietnam. “This is a very unique community in the way we support each other. I just thought I couldn’t sit home. [Jeramy Ailes] was being honored today and I had to be a part of it.”
U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Jeramy Ailes, 22, was a member of the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines Division, 1st Platoon. He was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq when he was shot and killed in an ambush Nov. 15, at the end of a week-long campaign to root out insurgents in Fallujah. Ailes took part in the initial invasion in March 2003 during his first tour, returning home after three months of service in the southern city of Nasiriyah. He departed for his second tour in June. He is the first Gilroy resident to die in battle since Vietnam.
In the two weeks since his death, scores of people have written e-mails and letters sharing fond memories of the young man who brought smiles to so many. Friends of the family started a memorial fund within hours of Ailes’ death, and students at Morgan Hill’s Barrett Elementary School, where Ailes’ mother Lana works, held a flag ceremony with visiting Marines Nov. 19.
The funeral procession, an idea proposed by Volunteers In Policing member Pat DeLeon, met and exceeded expectations. The Gilroy Exchange Club handed out more than 600 American flags, not nearly enough for the estimated 3,000 to 5,000 people who lined the final steps to the cemetery gates.
Jeff Barckley, chaplain for Boy Scout Troop 711, stood on the corner of First Street and Westwood Drive, dressed in his Scout uniform holding a flag. He said six Boy Scout and Explorer troops were on hand for the procession.
“I think it’s important that young people honor those that are serving in the armed forces and those that are fallen,” Barckley said. “The fact that so many people are out here shows that this is a community.”
Hundreds of people pressed into the street from both sidewalks to greet the procession when it arrived shortly after 4pm, led by a police escort and the Squirrel Racer – the yellow-and black Volkswagen Beetle that Ailes spent so many hours driving off road and tinkering with in the garage. At the wheel was Philip Sylvera, accompanied by Freddie Ross, two of Ailes’ closest high school friends. Hundreds of cars followed in tow in a procession that lasted nearly an hour.
At the cemetery, Marines laid Ailes’ coffin in its final resting place beneath a large oak tree as part of a full military burial. The first cracks of the rifle salute drew starts from the crowd and tears from Ailes’ mother Lana, who covered her eyes during the volleys. Moments later, Marines presented her with a folded American flag and the Purple Heart for her son’s bravery in service.
But the day was not all somber.
In a tribute befitting a young man known as a prankster, stories of his escapades drew laughter from hundreds that had earlier packed into a service at Gilroy Presbyterian Church.
Lee Neish, a former Gilroy pastor who now preaches at Los Gatos United Methodist Church, charted Ailes’ life in a sermon peppered with humorous stories that have become familiar to many.
“There are several defining moments, perhaps, in each person’s life. I’ve tried to find those in Jeramy’s life,” Neish said. “It all began in preschool…”
He described how a young Ailes pulled his first prank after receiving a list of “do’s and dont’s” from his preschool teacher. Touching the fire alarm topped the list of no-nos.
According to Neish, the teacher included a specific warning: “Never, ever, ever pull this alarm.”
“A few moments later, fire bells rang all through the building,” Neish said, and the teachers who rushed into the classroom “discovered Jeramy Ailes smiling, looking at the handle he had pulled.”
The pastor recalled what came to be a typical refrain uttered by Ailes’ mother Lana: “Jeramy, what have you done now?”
Neish went on to recount how a young Ailes held the first tricycle “grand prix” in the Wal-Mart aisles, later graduating to shopping carts in grocery-store parking lots. As a teenager, he would use the bushes in those lots as “a trip-and-fall” technique to win the hearts of sympathetic girls.
“Then he got his gold Jetta,” Neish said ominously, recalling Ailes’ cool reaction to flipping the car while doing doughnuts with friends. Arriving home late from the accident, he scribbled a brief note for his parents, which they found in the morning: “Jetta is wrecked. Jeramy.”
Laughter filled the church after each story.
“This is the Jeramy that so many of us knew and will remember in so many ways,” Neish said.
He then pointed to another defining moment in Ailes’ life – the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, which inspired the young man to join the Marines.
Ailes enlisted in 2002 during his first year at Gavilan College. The move, which surprised his parents, grew out of his desire to help others, according to family and friends.
Neish recounted how the young man told his parents, “I want to go over there and help,” before heading for Iraq.
As a Marine, Ailes served as a medic and riflemen. He learned Arabic between his two tours of duty, using the language to help while patrolling areas around Fallujah in hopes of locating insurgents.
Yet Ailes was more than a soldier, according to Neish. Throughout his service, “Jeramy never forgot his values.”
In phone calls and e-mails to his family, Ailes often related the dire living conditions facing Iraqis. Neish recalled how Ailes went beyond the call of duty to help people in Iraq. His efforts included collecting and distributing $300 to local children in Basrah, knowing that $10 would feed an entire family for a month. He also had his family send hundreds of soccer balls to hand out to kids.
“What is it that makes someone more than a soldier?” Neish asked after recounting the stories. “[It is] a person who, when faced with life’s worst experience – war – he or she does not forget or lose the values with which they grew up, and for which they defend the nation.”
On Sunday, it was clear the stories about Ailes – from his fun-loving personality to his sympathy for others here and abroad – had reached thousands of people and compelled them to pay their final respect.
“I just want to say thank you to the people,” said Ailes’ cousin Aimee Santos. “It wasn’t just Gilroy – the whole surrounding area was there. It helped out a lot and meant a lot to the family. We were all in tears. It was so overwhelming. I wanted to thank everybody, and thank you to Jeramy. He’s our hero now.
Serdar Tumgoren is a staff writer. Reach him at 408-847-7109 or [email protected].
