LCpl Jeremy M. Kane-USMC
Age: 22 Hometown: Cherry Hill, NJ
Mourners recall fallen Marine
By WILFORD S. SHAMLIN
Courier-Post Staff
Melinda Kane relied on humor to remember her son.
Jeremy Kane, she recalled during her oldest son’s funeral service Friday, was fond of running around the house naked as a boy. And when he was older, he would still wear the bare essentials: boxer shorts or the “occasional Speedo” — even in the presence of company.
“He didn’t care,” she said to laughter.
Click here to view the “Funeral for Marine Jeremy Kane” photo gallery and read the rest of this article after the jump…
The mother also remembered her son as being strong-willed.
In 2006, Jeremy Kane told his parents he wanted to serve his country in the war prompted by the 9/11 terror attacks. He had already enlisted in a Marines reserve unit when he made that announcement.
Lance Cpl. Kane, 22, died Jan. 23 in a suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province. The Cherry Hill man, who was a criminal-justice student at Rutgers-Camden, had arrived in the war-torn country three months earlier.
More than 5,300 military personnel have died in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, according to the Defense Department. About 90 were from New Jersey and at least 31 had direct ties to South Jersey.
During the service at Congregation M’Kor Shalom, Melinda Kane remembered her son as a preschooler picking pumpkins at Johnson’s Farm in Medford. His classmates searched for a perfect orange gourd but Kane wanted something different.
“He wanted a green pumpkin and that’s what he came home with,” she said, again to laughter.
Kane took pride in driving his mother’s purple minivan to Cherry Hill High School East after getting his driver’s license.
“He thought it was the best thing because he could fit so many of his friends inside,” she said.
“He loved. He laughed. He lived life to the fullest,” she added.
Kane’s loved ones also recalled his intelligence, wit, disarming smile, strong sense of loyalty to his country and his love for his family. Both sobs and laughter could be heard throughout the hour-long service.
Kane’s best friend, Michael Borunefriend, said he can’t think of Jeremy without smiling.
“Not too many people can say that they did what they wanted before they died,” Borunefriend said. “I’m going to miss my best friend. I love you, Jeremy.”
Rabbi Barry Schwartz encouraged the more than 200 mourners to remember Kane for the way he lived his life and for his idealism and devotion.
“Go now, Jeremy,” he said. “Go in peace . . . We won’t forget you. We will sing your song.”
A hearse carried the Marine’s flag-draped casket past Cherry Hill East, where Kane was a 2006 graduate.
More than 2,000 students waited outside in the cold to pay their respects. Some wept, while others clutched small American flags or held a hand over their heart.
“This is a show of sympathy and support for one of our former students and the family,” Principal John O’Breza said outside the Kresson Road school. “This is a very sad time for all of us.”
At Locustwood Cemetery in Cherry Hill, a bugle player delivered a moving rendition of “Taps” as Kane’s brothers Daniel, 19, and Benjamin, 16, consoled their mother. Jeremy Kane was buried next to his late father, Bruce.
As part of the service, seven Marines, in crisp unison, fired three rifle rounds into the air. The flag draping his casket was then folded into a triangle and presented to his mother.
