AR RAMADI, Iraq -- It was an emotional time for almost everyone who attended the late Capt. Jamie C. Edge’s memorial service. Tears rolled down the faces of some of the fighting men as they paid tribute and remembered the commanding officer of Company B, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, who recently fell on the battlefield.
Edge, a 32-year-old Marine leader from Virginia Beach, Va., was killed by enemy fire while conducting a combat patrol with his men.
Navy Lt. Aaron T. Miller, the infantry battalion’s chaplain, delivered the meditation.
“The death of our friend Jamie reminds us what it means to live,” said the 32-year-old from Redlands, Calif., in his message to the Marines attending the service. “You must use his death to motivate you to carry on the job he died doing. We have given our brother, Captain Jamie Edge, to the Lord. He is at rest, and we must carry on.”
Marines who served under Edge’s command remember their fallen leader as hardworking, dedicated, professional and caring.
“He spent very long hours preparing for the next mission so that we could succeed,” Lance Cpl. Jeremiah C. Wilson, who was Edge’s machine gunner with Headquarters Platoon, Company B. “He cared about his Marines more than anything. We were his pride and joy,” added the 22-year-old from Moreno Valley, Calif.
Company B’s executive officer and first sergeant each delivered a memorial tribute during the ceremony.
“The one thing I remember about Captain Edge, best, is he was a true professional,” said 1st Lt. Stephen G. Lewis. “He fully committed himself to the mission we have here. The way to truly pay tribute to him is continue in the streets of Ramadi and meet our objective. That’s what he would’ve wanted.”
“Captain Edge was the happiest when he was with his Marines,” said 1st Sgt. Scott A. Van De Ven. “If I had to pick one word to describe Captain Edge, it would be devotion. He spent every waking moment trying to figure out how to kill the enemy.”
Captain Kelly R. Thompson, commanding officer, Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, was a close friend of Edge. The two men met while attending Expeditionary Warfare School in Quantico, Va., in 2002 and later served together in the first Operation Iraqi Freedom.
“His work ethic was super-human,” said Thompson. “His efforts to ensure his Marines were trained and ready (to conduct missions) were endless.”
Thompson, a 36-year-old from Shallowater, Texas, said his late friend’s devotion to duty made him one of the finest officers he’d ever served with.
“He was fully committed to do his duty and a true believer in the cause we’re fighting for here against terrorism,” Thompson said.
According to Thompson, Edge’s exceptional character traits as a Marine carried over to his family life. He was a devoted husband to his wife, Krissy, and loving father to his two daughters, Helena and Rachel, he said.