Marine Lance Cpl. Alec E. Catherwood

Remember Our Heroes

Marine Lance Cpl. Alec E. Catherwood, 19, of Byron, Ill.

LCpl Catherwood was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Oct. 14, 2010 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

BYRON – With hundreds of flickering candles held toward the dusky evening sky, this small city mourned the death of a 19-year-old native son. U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Alec E. Catherwood was gunned down by small arms fire Thursday while combating enemy forces in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province. He died Thursday, 4 months after graduating from Byron High School. He was engaged to be married.

On Saturday morning, Veronica Sanders and Tonya Poppen each mourned the loss of a son. Marine Lance Cpl. Alec E. Catherwood, 19, of Byron, was killed by small-arms fire Thursday while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Helmand Province, according to a news release from the U.S. Marine Corps 1st Division.

He made everyone smile.

The war in Afghanistan has struck close to home

Lance Cpl. Alec E. Catherwood of Byron was shot and killed Thursday by small-arms fire while conducting dismounted combat operations against enemy forces in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

Catherwood, a 19-year-old rifleman was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif. He was the sixth Marine from the same unit to die in combat within 24 hours.

Alec Catherwood, the son of Kirk and Gretchen Catherwood, was engaged to be married July 2, 2011, to Hailey Patrick of Davis Junction.

Patrick’s mother, Christine, an employee of the Register Star, described him as “the kindest human being who ever walked the face of the earth.”

Always wanted to be a Marine

“Since he was 3 years old, all this kid wanted to be was a Marine. He was already talking about re-enlisting, and this was only his first year.

“To tell you what kind of kid he was, his mom made five phone calls and within five hours, there must have been about 100 people at their house last night.”

Catherwood is a 2009 Byron High School graduate who enlisted in the Marine Corps on June 1, 2009. He loved mudding in his truck and riding his four-wheeler when he was home.

Patrick said her daughter and Catherwood met through a mutual friend and started dating in February 2009.

Loved to dance

“They loved to dance. Their time was so precious when they had it. He was only here for 10 days or two-week visits.”

This was Lance Cpl. Catherwood’s first combat deployment.

Lance Cpl. Catherwood’s personal service awards include the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Korean Defense Service Medal.

“Alec was a Marine, who always wanted to be a Marine,” Patrick said. “He loved his country and wanted to defend it. He is truly an American hero.”

Other than the above statements, a close family friend has stated that Alec's family would like privacy to deal with their loss and grief.

Lance Cpl. Catherwood is survived by his parents Kirk and Gretchen Catherwood and his fiancee Hailey Patrick of Davis Junction and many friends both Marines and those in the Byron, IL. area.

Marine Lance Cpl. Alec E. Catherwood was killed in action on 10/14/10.