BELLINGHAM - Strangers, friends and veterans lined the streets of Bellingham on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 28, to honor a soldier coming home for the last time.
U.S. Marine Capt. Daniel B. Bartle, 27, of Ferndale died Jan. 19 when his helicopter crashed in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. Five other Marines were also killed in the crash.
Bartle graduated as a valedictorian from Ferndale High School in 2002. He is survived by his father, mother, brother and sister.
Family and those who knew and loved him waited in silence, hands over their mouths and tears on their cheeks, as the charter plane carrying Bartle's remains arrived at Bellingham International Airport.
With slow steps, Bartle's fellow Marines carried the wooden casket, draped in an American flag, past the family and to the waiting hearse.
Hundreds of people had gathered on the sidewalks of Northwest Avenue, Elm Street and Broadway - the route taken by the motorcade that brought Bartle's body from the airport to Westford Funeral Home.
The escort included dozens of motorcyclists with the Patriot Guard Riders, two helicopters flying overhead and a long train of police vehicles flashing red, white and blue lights.
Many of the mourners watched in stoic silence as the hearse drove by. Those in uniform gave a farewell salute.
"It's an honor for us to honor him," said Kristine Falk, a Bellingham resident who was handing out small flags on Northwest. "I'm very pleased to just stand out here and say, 'We love you, we love your family, and we're here to support you.'"
Gudlaug Hawkinson, a drama teacher at Ferndale High School, had Bartle as a student when he was a freshman. She described him as an amazing person.
"He was just a wonderful young man, and I want to show my respects to him and his family," she said. "He was a very kind, funny, caring individual, very bright. All the brains and all the talent, and he was still so down to earth."
Hawkinson also taught Spc. Aaron Aamot, who was killed in a bomb blast in Afghanistan in November 2009. She was among hundreds who turned out for his procession as well as Bartle's.
"I truly believe they are fighting for our country, for our freedoms," she said. "It's important to show respect to our troops, the living and the fallen, so I think it's important we continue, as a community and as a country, to demonstrate that we truly do care about what these young men and women are doing."
Lynden resident Dyona Robson stood beside her husband, Andy, and her 6-year-old daughter, Senna, and watched the procession on Northwest Avenue. When Senna realized that they wouldn't all have flags, she crafted some out of crayons, paper and Popsicle sticks on the way. Honoring a fallen soldier is something that goes beyond politics, Robson said.
"Not everybody agrees with the war, but they support the families who have sons and daughters over there," she said. "This isn't about the war. It's about supporting the community."
The Robsons' son is set to deploy to Afghanistan soon, and Dyona Robson said it was an amazing thing to see so many people out in the cold, waving flags big, small and even handmade, to honor a fallen soldier. Amazing, but also heartbreaking.
"I would want to know my community is here if something happens to him," she said of her son.
As a mother of a 22-year-old son, Everson resident Teresa Courchane said her heart went out to Bartle's mother for her loss. She held balloons and a sign that said "hero" in bold writing.
"This is one of the things I feel I can do to show my appreciation for him," she said. "Sometimes it takes a tragedy to bring us together. I don't think I know any of these people, but here we stand, all for the same cause. He's one of us and more. He represented America. Together we stand. It's the way it should be."
A public memorial for Bartle will be held at 6 p.m. Sunday in the Ferndale High School auditorium.
A funeral Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Church of the Assumption, 2116 Cornwall Ave. The Mass will be a smaller ceremony, but it's also open to the public.
Reach Caleb Hutton at caleb.hutton@bellinghamherald.com or call 360-715-2276. Reach Zoe Fraley at zoe.fraley@bellinghamherald.com or call 360-756-2803.
