Marine Lance Cpl. Tyler J. Troyer

Remember Our Heroes

Marine Lance Cpl. Tyler J. Troyer, 21, of Tangent, Ore.

Lance Cpl Troyer was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Nov. 19 of wounds sustained from small-arms fire while he was conducting combat operations against enemy forces near Karmah, Iraq.

Associated Press

ALBANY, Ore. — A Marine who was fatally shot in the head while on patrol in Iraq was remembered in this working-class community for his blazing fastball, his sense of humor and his devotion to family.

More than 300 people gathered at the Linn County Expo Center on Wednesday to say goodbye to Lance Cpl. Tyler Troyer, 21, of Tangent, who died on Nov. 19.

The crowd wore buttons with a picture of Troyer, who was a star left-hander for the West Albany High School baseball team before joining the Marines.

More than a dozen family members and friends told stories of the mischievous boy who sometimes got into trouble as a youngster. They also praised him as being the glue that connected a family split by divorce.

“Tyler was an example of a person with a destiny in his life,” Galen Troyer, the Marine’s uncle, said from a stage adorned with hundreds of flowers. “He had goals and knew what he wanted to do. Tyler cared about people, and he made a difference.”

Troyer’s father, David Troyer, remembered the day when his son told him he needed his signature so he could sign up for the Marines because he wasn’t yet 18.

“I was a bit nervous,” David Troyer recalled. “But I could see it in his eyes that this was something he really wanted to do. I saw a real change in him.”

Photographs of Troyer sat on easels in the hallway and auditorium of the Expo Center. On one, the young man was pictured with the woman he planned to marry, Megan Oswald.

A newspaper announcement of their engagement was centered at the top of the frame. Below were photos of the pair embracing in front of the White House and sitting beneath a freshly decorated Christmas tree in their apartment. Another easel showed photos of Troyer’s military life and his stint in Iraq. He played soccer with young Iraqis and joined in group pictures with his fellow Marines.

Terri Thorpe, Troyer’s mother, was last to speak. She talked about her the fears she had with a son at war and she remembered the 21 years she had with him.

“He will always continue to be in our hearts,” she said. “I ask that you cry with this family and have sorrow for this family.

“But I also ask that you remember that we have guys left in Iraq still,” and they need support, she said.

Marine Lance Cpl. Tyler J. Troyer was killed in action on 11/19/05.