John Beale, Post-Gazette People line the streets of Washington, Pa., as the body of Lance Cpl. Ryan Kovacicek is taken from Immaculate Conception Church to Queen of Heaven Cemetery. Kovacicek was killed in Iraq on July 10. Click photo for larger image.

More than 100 Washington County residents turned out on sidewalks and street corners yesterday to pay their respects to a U.S. Marine who was killed nine days ago in Hit, on the Euphrates River in western Iraq.

Through a nearly 15-mile long funeral procession from Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Washington, Pa., to Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Peters, residents and veterans waved flags and saluted as the hearse carrying 22-year-old Lance Cpl. Ryan J. Kovacicek drove by.

Kovacicek was killed by indirect enemy fire -- possibly a mortar explosion, according to his family.

Over the weekend, Washington Mayor Kenneth Westcott asked residents to come out and show their support for Kovacicek, from Avella.

Two of those supporters were Frank E. Britko, a fellow Marine who fought in the Korean War, and Walt Fedor, a member of the Air Force during World War II. They stood with military caps on near the corner of Murtland Avenue and North Main Street in Washington and saluted as the procession passed by.

	John Beale, Post-Gazette Marines salute as Kovacicek's body is taken from a hearse into Immaculate Conception Church. Click photo for larger image.

"I feel so sad over this," Britko said. "Those guys over there don't have a chance."

"He had his whole life ahead of him," Fedor said.

A junior at Indiana University of Pennsylvania studying criminology, Kovacicek attended John F. Kennedy Elementary School and Canevin Catholic High School, where he lettered in hockey.

He joined the Marine Corps Reserve two years ago and was deployed to Iraq in January, first making stops in Camp Lejeune, N.C., and the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif., for training. He landed in Iraq in March and was expected to return home in October.

John Beale, Post-Gazette Tyler Ankrom, 11, of Washington, center, salutes as the body of Lance Cpl. Ryan Kovacicek is carried from a funeral Mass at Immaculate Conception Church in Washington. Ankrom is a member of the US Navy Sea Cadet Corps. in Pittsburgh. Although he didn't know Kovacicek, Tyler, a sixth-grader, asked his mother to take him to the funeral so he could pay his respects. He wants to join the military when he grows up. Click photo for larger image.

Killed with him on July 10 was Marine Staff Sgt. Joseph P. Goodrich, 32, of Westwood. The men were assigned to the Marine Force Reserve's 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, out of Moundsville, W.Va.

Kovacicek was given a full military burial, with a gun salute, taps and bagpipes. Marines, some in dress uniform, spoke privately about their friendship with and admiration for him.

"We must remember that for Ryan, life has changed; it has not ended," said the Rev. William Feeney of Immaculate Conception Church.

Kovacicek's best friend, Raymond Marinpetro, said he will be best remembered for the sacrifices he made for others. His friend joined the Marines, Marinpetro said, because he wanted to serve his country.

"He was a brother to everyone, especially to those that didn't have one," he said. "He was there whenever and wherever you needed him."