Local family buries fallen Marine

POLSON - Lance Cpl. Kane Funke died doing exactly what he wanted to do.

That's how his uncle, Eric Funke, described the 20-year-old U. S. Marine during a heartfelt eulogy at Kane's funeral last Friday morning.

"Kane was born tiny," Eric told the 400 or so people gathered in Polson's Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. "He only had a 10 percent survival rate. He came into this world fighting and he died fighting."

In mid-August, Kane was killed during combat duty by an exploding incendiary device, in western Iraq's Al Anwar province.

The young man, who attended Flathead High School and has many relatives in Polson and the Mission Valley, was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force.

Kane was deployed to Iraq last February, having joined the U. S. Marine Corps last fall.

"He was a hyper kid," his Uncle Eric said. "At eight years old, he knew he wanted to be a Marine. He would hide in people's yards, all 'cami'd up.' He had a lot of friends…he would go to the local veterans' home and help serve Thanksgiving dinner.

"He died living out his life's dream. He had eight months of tough fighting in Iraq."

Several front rows in the church were occupied by Marines in formal dress blues. Some of them were pallbearers, and others formed an honor guard.

After the eulogy, one of the Marines played the guitar and sang a solo.

All of them tried to comfort the Funke family during their time of grief.

The 12 active duty Marines, from the 5th Battalion, 14th Marines, traveled to Polson from the Spokane area to help the family in various ways.

The rear wall of the church was partially lined with men standing at attention, dressed in a wide variety of uniforms - active military, veterans and law enforcement.

The Veteran Warrior Society was prominently present during both the funeral and the burial.

Kane was a tribal descendant.

Among the dignitaries attending the service was Montana Governor Judy Martz.

Out at Lakeview Cemetery, Flathead Lake breezes tempered the sun's midday heat as the Funkes prepared to bury Kane. His hilltop grave overlooks a panorama of his beloved lake, valley and mountains.

At one end of the reserved veterans' area of the cemetery, circled by 80 American flags flapping in the breezes, a lone bagpiper played.

A little way down the hill, a bugler in black and white stood waiting to play the stirring military taps.

On the opposite side of the field, a group of Marines also waited, rifles ready to deliver a 21-gun salute.

A long line of veterans stood at attention along one side of the burial site, and uniformed police officers lined another side.

A military helicopter flew over the cemetery as the lengthy funeral procession of cars wound its way to the graveside ceremony. Led by a string of law enforcement cruisers with lights flashing, the procession was estimated to measure a mile and a half long.

One Warrior Society member performed a special tribal blessing on the flag-draped casket.

Local state fish and game warden Rick Schoening released a white dove, which fluttered high against the blue sky.

Then it was time for the Marines to remove the flag, fold it and present it to the family. After that, each Marine took a turn greeting and comforting Kane's mother and other relatives.

Kane's grave is number 31 in the neat rows of Lakeview Cemetery veterans' graves, each of which is marked with a white cross and granite headstone.

The ceremony was concluded with the lone bagpiper playing "Amazing Grace."