Marine Cpl. Christopher G. Scherer

Remember Our Heroes

Marine Cpl. Christopher G. Scherer, 21, of East Northport, N.Y.

Cpl. Scherer was assigned to 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died July 21, 2007 of wounds sustained while conducting combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq.

AP
Marine Cpl. Christopher G. Scherer

Many Marines recalled Christopher G. Scherer's bushy mustache and how he reacted when a commander ordered all Marines to shave.

"Sir, I can't shave it off," Scherer told his platoon commander, Lt. Doug Orr. "I ain't got nothing else."

"What do you mean?" Orr said jokingly. "We got each other right?"

Then Scherer started singing Bon Jovi's hit, "Without Love," at the top of his lungs.

"He had the platoon in stitches," said Lt. Col. Wayne Sinclaire.

Scherer, 21, of East Northport, N.Y., was shot in the chest by a sniper July 21 during combat in Anbar province. He was assigned to Camp Pendleton.

"Chris was a Marine long before he enlisted," said the Rev. Chuck Van Houten. "This was his goal in life - to serve."

Sinclaire said: "Men like Chris stepped forward to be counted."

He also is survived by his parents, Janet and Tim. Scherer's favorite drink was Guinness, and the family buried him with a bottle in his coffin.

"When I think of Chris I can't help but laugh because that's what he did, he made us laugh every day," said his sister, Meghan.

Marine Cpl. Christopher G. Scherer was killed in action on 7/21/07.