4,000 lined funeral procession route for Lance Cpl. Michael Cifuentes...

[VolcanoJen]

... in Fairfield (a northern suburb of Cincinnati) today.

He is one of the 14 Marines, all from the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marines, based in Brook Park near Cleveland, killed near Haditha, Iraq on August 3rd.

The funeral procession was the lead story on all three local news broadcasts tonight, with Channel 5 giving it extensive coverage.

The procession route was lined with mourners holding flags, and with some giving the peace sign as the hearse passed. It was among the saddest things I've ever seen here, locally.

The awareness and outpouring of grief have really hit home for this community, which lost five Marines in the attack.

Read more about the Cincinnati-area soldiers here:

Services For Five Local Marines Begin Today - WLWT Channel 5

Brief story on today's funeral procession here:

Thousands line route to honor fallen Marine - Cincinnati Enquirer

FAIRFIELD -- More than 4,000 mourners lined a procession route that stretched from the Greater Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport to the Avance Funeral Home to honor a fallen Marine here this afternoon -- in a show of rememberance that made even the hearse driver cry.

[noamnety]

1. a little more about him

He was newly-engaged. He had proposed to his fiance Tara by sitting on an outdoor wooden bench, going through a stack of recent photos. Mixed into the pile was a snapshot of him holding a sign lettered, "Will You Marry Me?"

Tara, also a school teacher, already has her wedding dress, which she won in a radio contest.

[Callalily]

2. My heart if breaking for his family

and his fiancé, and all the other families. She along with all those Mom's should head to Texas. Absolutely no decent, truthful explanation can be given for these deaths. I truly wonder how Bush can sleep at night.