...but not forgotten.
Richard
Banners unveiled for Montco’s hometown heroes Small, Shellenberger
Keith Phucas, Times Herald, 13 Oct 2010
Two American servicemen who died in the line of duty were honored Tuesday at Montgomery County Court House Plaza with Hometown Heroes banners.
As family, friends and county officials looked on, banners were unveiled for Army
Staff Sgt. Marc J. Small and Navy Seal Eric F. Shellenberger.
Small, a 29-year-old Collegeville man, was killed Feb. 13, 2009 in Faramuz, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his unit with rocket-propelled grenade launchers and small arms fire.
Assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) in Fort Bragg, N.C., Small joined the Army in 2004 and entered the special forces program after basic training. In 2007, he earned the Green Beret and received medical training at John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and Joint Special Operations Medical Training Center, where he finished first in his class.
As a boy, Small lived in Lower Providence with his mother, Mary, and stepfather, Peter MacFarland, brother Matt Small, and sisters Heather, Jen and Megan MacFarland. His father, Murray Small, was a veteran of the Army Special Forces Operations. Small graduated from Methacton High School in 1997, then went on to The Citadel and Millersville University.
Small had planned to marry Amanda Charney when he returned from his deployment. He was killed after spending three weeks in Afghanistan. During that time he worked in a village medical clinic.
The event’s second honoree, Shellenberger, served several deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, earning five Sea Service Deployment Ribbons and was Naval Special Warfare Sailor of the Year. Prior to becoming a Navy Seal in 2000, he served in the Marines. He attended North Penn School District.
Shellenberger, who was 36, drowned May 7, 2009, during a training dive in the waters off Bremerton in Washington State, according to usnavyseals.com.
As a member of Seal Team One, he was the team’s Air and Diving Department head. Shellenberger’s elite unit operated a minisubmarine designed to sneak into enemy waters, gathering intelligence or planting explosives.
“He was simply our hero,” said brother Marc Shellenberger. “I never thought he wouldn’t come back from a deployment.”
Shellenberger said his brother, whom he described as a highly competitive “alpha male,” would imbue any activity with a competitive aura.
“He could turn a backyard whiffle ball game into a World Series atmosphere,” he said.
Shellenberger is survived by his parents, a stepfather and siblings.
The noon program honoring the men included opening remarks by Department of Veterans Affairs John Nowak; the Sheriff’s Department Honor Guard; an invocation by the Rev. Kell Morton, of St. John’s Church in Norristown; a dedication by Commissioners Chairman James R. Matthews; a closing prayer by Morton; the retiring of colors by the Honor Guard; and Taps by Frank Dube and Thomas W. Lipovsky, of American Legion Post 901 in Jeffersonville; and closing remarks by Nowak.
Small and Shellenberger bring the county’s Hometown Heroes total to 16. The other servicemen whose banners are mounted on posts outside the courthouse include:
Marine Lance Cpl. Travis M. Stottlemyer, who died in Bahrain in 2008; Army Capt. Nathan R. Raudenbush, who died in 2008 in Iraq; Marine Lance Cpl. Brandon J. Van Parys, who died in 2005 in Iraq; Army Sgt. John T. Bubeck, who died in 2006 in Iraq; Army SPC. Tristan C. Smith, who died in Iraq in 2006; Army PFC Travis C. Zimmerman, who died in Iraq in 2006; Army Capt. Jeffrey P. Toczylowski, who died in Iraq in 2005; Army SPC. John Kulick, who died in Iraq in 2005; Army SPC. Kurt E. Krout, who died in Iraq in 2005; Army Master Sgt. Paul D. Karpowich, who died in Iraq in 2004; Army Lt. Col. Mark P. Phelanm who died in Iraq in 2004; Marine Cpl. John H. Todd III, who died in Iraq in 2004; Army Lt. Col. Anthony L. Sherman, who died in Kuwait in 2003; and Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph B. Maglione, who died in Kuwait in 2003.
http://www.timesherald.com/articles/...4764713340.txt