Friends gather to remember fallen Marine "Pretty Boy Floyd"

When we read stories about their Memorials, we are touched for a time but then we get to go back to our lives as if nothing happened. The family and friends have to go back to living their lives with a piece of their hearts missing. Moms bury sons and daughters. A lifetime of praying and worrying about them, being proud and worried, being hugged and hearing those sweet words, "I'm home" will not be repeated again in over 5,000 homes. Such a small percentage of the population of this country and easy to ignore if we choose to, yet if we do, we miss knowing about men and women who died for our sake.

Friends gather to remember fallen Marine

By Eloísa Ruano González, Orlando Sentinel

4:52 p.m. EDT, September 18, 2010

Memorial service for Marine Gunnery Sgt. Floyd Holley
(Copied by Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda, Orlando Sentinel / September 18, 2010)
A photo shows Marine Gunnery Sgt. Floyd Holley, who was killed in Afghanistan on Aug. 29, on display during a celebration of his life, on Saturday, September 18, 2010, in the auditorium of Lyman High School, where he attended. Holley, a roadside explosives specialist, died after he was hit by a blast from an improvised explosive device.

LONGWOOD — For some of the former Lyman High School students, it was their first time back on campus since their graduation almost two decades ago. They were there on Saturday to honor a classmate who could not join them.

Gunnery Sgt. Floyd Holley never made it home from his third tour of duty in the Middle East. The Marine, who grew up in Casselberry, died Aug. 29 after he was hit by a blast from a homemade bomb in Afghanistan's Helmand province.

Hundreds of friends and relatives gathered in the school's auditorium to pay tribute to their hometown hero. Although somber at times, the memorial was a way for people to relive the happy memories. They shared pictures of Holley, an outgoing, yet, kind-spirited man. In most of the pictures, he wore a big grin on his face, held a beer in his hand or flashed a shaka, a common greeting among surfers. While in the service, he taught an Afghani man and boy to flash shakas. The photo was displayed on a table at the entrance of the auditorium.
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Friends gather to remember fallen Marine