Laughter, tears mark service
Published 11:26 pm Friday, December 23, 2005
It was a service that began with salutes and tears and ended with laughter as friends and family gathered at Cullman Heritage Funeral Home on Friday to remember the life of Marine Corporal Adam Fales.
The salutes came from a couple of men standing in the back of the room as a group of Marines carried Fales’ flag-draped coffin into the sanctuary. Tears were shed by family members and friends who came to say goodbye to a loved one who had touched the lives of many in Cullman County because of his service to his country.
The laughter came from family and friends who remembered the family vacations, the backyard football games and other happier times with a young man who was known as much as a peacemaker as he was a soldier defending his country during a time of war.
“One of the things I’ll remember most about him was his laugh, his chuckle,” said older brother Jacob Fales during a testimonial time at the end of the service honoring Adam Fales, who died from an accidental gunshot wound last Saturday in Iraq.
“He was an outstanding Marine who did everything you asked of him,” said Jeff Baker, a former Marine who served with the Marines in Cherry Point N.C. “He knew what job needed to be done and knew how to do it.”
Baker was among a group of former Marines who served with Adam Fales who made the trip to pay their last respects to their friend.
“The ones he was currently serving with are in Iraq wishing they were here,” said Baker, who made the trip from Cincinnati. “They’re on a mission that needs to be completed.”
It was a mission that Adam Fales looked forward to seeing completed, according to his cousin, Gary O’Steen, who officiated the service along with Brad Hadley.
“His calling was to do what was right,” O’Steen said. “He looked beyond the bullets and the bombs to see a democracy (in Iraq) that protects the freedoms of its people.”
A wide range of people came to pay their respects. Adam Fales’ former classmates and teammates and other members of the Fairview community were in attendance, as were several area veterans.
Cullman County’s legislative delegation — State Sen. Zeb Little and representatives Neal Morrison and Jeremy Oden — were in attendance to present the Fales 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 the service he gave to his country in Iraq.
O’Steen said the family has been touched by the compassion the community has shown since they learned the news of Adam Fales’ death.
“The family has felt such an outpouring of love from each of you,” O’Steen said. “They want to say thank you for the food you’ve brought to their homes, for the condolences, the hand shakes and the hugs. It’s been like the arms of the Lord Jesus saying ‘I love you.'”