Our son, Christopher George Scherer, was born on June 29, 1986 and was raised in the town of East Northport, NY. A fun loving and energetic boy, he played soccer, baseball, lacrosse and was also a member of Boy Scout Troop 52. He was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout at the age of 17. Chris played two years of Varsity Lacrosse at Northport High School and graduated in June of 2004. One month later he was on his way to Parris Island, SC for a thirteen week job interview. He successfully completed boot camp and, on November 5, 2004, he earned the coveted title of United States Marine.
He completed his infantry and combat engineer training at Camp Lejeune in spring of 2005 and was then stationed at Camp Fuji, Japan until spring of 2006. He returned to the United States and spent the next year honing his Combat Engineer Skills at Camp Pendleton, Ca. On April 11th, 2007 Chris and his fellow Marines of the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division shipped out on the 13th MEU as part of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. The MEU stopped in Guam and Singapore before arriving in Kuwait. There, Chris’s platoon trained for several weeks before they were sent to Iraq. While training in Kuwait, Chris earned the rank of Corporal on his mother’s birthday, June 1st. On July 21, 2007 in the province of Al Anbar, Iraq, Chris lost his life serving the Country he loved. He was felled by a single bullet from the gun of an enemy sniper.
When Lieutenant Colonel Wayne Sinclair spoke at Chris’s funeral he said the following: “Chris’s platoon commander called him the most likable marine in the platoon, no one griped or had a bad day if Cpl. Scherer had anything to say about it. Lieutenant Douglas Orr told me that though the living conditions in the field have been harsh over the past two months, and the marines have been working and fighting in 120 degree temperatures while wearing body armor and carrying ammunition, weapons, water, and equipment that typically weighs over 70 pounds for each marine, he never heard Chris complain or even question their circumstances – not once. Not ever.”
Lt. Col Sinclair further stated: “Lt. Orr also shared with me some of the unique traits that Chris’ mates will forever remember him for. For starters, there was his sense of humor – paradoxically at its best when stress and privation were highest. Most notably, he had an uncanny ability to lift spirits with his voice impressions. He was a superb mimic of more actor’s voices and accents than anyone could count. One of his favorites was that from the movie Jaws…”Captain, I think you better get a bigger boat.” He would often say this when things got particularly rough.”
It was comforting knowing that even on the battlefield Chris exemplified the positive characteristics we saw in him everyday as a son, brother, grandson, nephew, and friend. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger released the following statement regarding Chris’s death. “The death of Corporal Christopher Scherer is a tremendous loss to our nation. Maria and I, along with all Californians, mourn the loss of this brave individual and express our sincere gratitude for his selfless service in defense of our country. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family in this time of grief.”
Although we miss him terribly, we without question support his decision to join the Marine Corps to defend our countries freedoms and we urge all of you to support the rest of our Armed Forces who are doing the same.