OT: Family says goodbye to Marine. Marine Cpl. Adam Fales

February 6, 2006

Family says goodbye to Marine



Marine Cpl. Jacob Fales watches as his mother, Glenda, moves toward the
casket of her son, Marine Cpl. Adam Fales, brother of Jacob and James, left,
during the burial service Friday in Oneonta.
-- Amanda Shavers




There were tears, salutes and moments of laughter as friends and family
gathered here Friday to remember a north Alabama Marine who accidentally was
shot and killed while serving in Iraq.
Family members say Cpl. Adam Fales, 22, of Cullman was listening to music on
his laptop in his barracks when he was shot by a member of his unit.
Military officials have confirmed that Fales was shot accidentally while in
his barracks in Fallujah on Dec. 16 but have not released details.
Fales' brother, Jacob Fales, said the family learned from the military that
he was listening to country music with three of his fellow Marines before
two of them got up to leave.
"They picked up their guns. One of them accidentally pulled the trigger. The
gun was pointed at Adam," Jacob Fales, who also is a Marine corporal, told
The Cullman Times.
He said the news came as a relief to the family, which initially thought
foul play may have been involved. Fales' mother said Tuesday that Marines
told her that her son had been shot in the back of the head while sleeping.
An overflow crowd attended the emotional service, with several members of
the community standing to say how Fales had touched their lives. Men
standing in the back of the room saluted as Marines carried Fales'
flag-draped coffin into the sanctuary at Cullman Heritage Funeral Home.
Tears were shed, but there also was laughter as family and friends
remembered the family vacations, backyard football games and other happier
times with a young man who was known as much as a peacemaker as he was a
soldier.
"One of the things I'll remember most about him was his laugh, his chuckle,"
Jacob Fales said of his younger brother.
Those in attendance ranged from Fales' former classmates and teammates to
Cullman County's
legislative delegation. State Sen. Zeb Little and representatives Neal
Morrison and Jeremy Oden presented the family with proclamations from Gov.
Bob Riley.
Adam Fales has been awarded the State of Alabama Distinguished Service
Medal -- the highest medal awarded to state residents -- for his service in
Iraq.
"He was an outstanding Marine who did everything you asked of him," Jeff
Baker, a former Marine who served with Fales, said. "He knew what job needed
to be done and knew how to do it."
Fales' cousin, Gary OSteen, co-officiated the service.
"His calling was to do what was right," OSteen said of Fales. "He looked
beyond the bullets and the bombs to see a democracy (in Iraq) that protects
the freedoms of its people."
Jacob Fales said his mother has requested that the members of his brother's
unit not be punished, though they violated rules by not clearing the gun
chambers of ammunition. He said guns are also supposed to be pointed in the
air to prevent accidents.
"We realize it was an accident," Jacob Fales said. "It's no different than
someone running a stop sign and causing an accident in a car. This is
something they will have to live with for the rest of their lives."
Adam Fales was assigned to a unit based at the Marine Corps Air Station at
Cherry Point, N.C. Officials there have not publicly released details from
the investigation or said if the shooting would result in an arrest.
Fales was buried with full military honors at a mountainside cemetery at
Straight Mountain Baptist Church in Blount County.
OSteen said the family has been touched by the compassion the community has
shown since they learned of Fales' death.
"The family has felt such an outpouring of love from each of you," OSteen
said at the service Friday. "They want to say thank you for the food you've
brought to their homes, for the condolences, the handshakes and the hugs.
It's been like the arms of the Lord Jesus saying I love you."