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By Jim Carney
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Wednesday, Oct 29, 2008
CANTON: As a hard October rain fell and dark clouds colored the sky, a young Marine called ''our Annie'' by her family was buried Tuesday afternoon with full military honors at Forest Hill Cemetery.
Lance Cpl. Stacy Ann ''Annie'' Dryden, 22, was described as ''a patriot and a hero in anybody's book,'' by Gary Glover, a family member who officiated at the funeral.
A 2004 GlenOak High School graduate from Plain Township, Lance Cpl. Dryden died in Iraq on Oct. 19 in what the Marines are calling a nonhostile incident that is under investigation.
She joined the Marines in 2007 and arrived in Iraq in August.
According to her family, the Marines she served with named her the ''fiery angel'' because ''she came off as sweet and innocent, but she was tough as nails.''
More than 200 people attended the young Marine's service at Reed Funeral Home in Canton, where her lifelong friend and fellow Marine, Pfc. Jessie Reed, spoke of her love of Annie.
''Without Annie, I wouldn't be the person I am today,'' Reed said. ''She's going to stay in my heart forever.''
Outside the funeral home, more than a dozen members of the Patriot Guard held flags to honor the fallen Marine.
''I didn't know her,'' said Paul Blackwell, 54, of Stonecreek in Tuscarawas County, who held a flag at the funeral home and at the cemetery. ''We're here to honor'' a Marine.
Glover, a great-uncle of Lance Cpl. Dryden's mother, said the Marine ''will always be our Annie. . . . Only 22 years old, no wonder we ask why.''
Memories of 'Annie'
He said he will forever remember ''the pixie-faced little girl'' that she was as a child.
''Our memories of Annie are God's gift to us,'' Glover said. ''Let her memories bless us with peace.''
Lance Cpl. Dryden, he said, believed that one should not ''be a bystander'' and that people should ''dream big.''
On North Main Street in North Canton, along the procession route from the funeral home to the cemetery, a large American flag was displayed between ladder trucks from the North Canton and Plain Township fire departments.
Memorial donations can be made to the U.S. Marine Corps, Toys For Tots Program, 800 Dan St., Akron, OH 44310.
Beacon Journal staff writer Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.
CANTON: As a hard October rain fell and dark clouds colored the sky, a young Marine called ''our Annie'' by her family was buried Tuesday afternoon with full military honors at Forest Hill Cemetery.
Get the full article here.
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