Today marks the one-year anniversary of his death
Gilroy – A local family will light the darkness of a cemetery tonight in remembrance of a son and brother, the first Gilroyan to die in battle since Vietnam.
Joel and Lana Ailes, the parents of U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Jeramy Ailes, ask friends and other community members to join them at 7pm at Gavilan Hills Memorial Park.
The couple’s son died Nov. 15, 2004, during house-to-house fighting in a week-long campaign to root out insurgents in Fallujah, Iraq.
Thousands from the surrounding community thronged the First Street approach to the cemetery last November when the young man, who had just turned 22, was laid to rest. Ailes would have turned 23 on Nov. 3.
“Joel and I know that it isn’t just our family that has been grieving for Jeramy,” Lana Ailes said. “We know that Jeramy’s friends, as well as our friends and the community have also been hit hard by his death. We appreciate them being there for us, but also we think it means a lot for them to be there for themselves because they grieve not only for us but along with us. Family, friends and the community are what have helped us get through this tough time in our lives. It would mean a lot to us if they would join us at the vigil.”
The loss of the young man, known among friends and family as a prankster with a big heart, drew letters and other forms of support from around the country. The family’s loss reached an artist in Colorado, who painted a portrait of Ailes for their home.
It reached a group of students in San Jose, who included Ailes in a documentary about the lives of seven Bay Area residents who have died in Iraq. It reached a Kentucky company, which donated the cost of etchings on an elaborate new headstone placed at Ailes grave site earlier this month.
The headstone’s upper corner displays the silhouette of a draped U.S. flag, while its face bears a purple heart and picture of Ailes in military uniform.
It bears a line from the New Testament: “Greater love hath no man than this, That a man lay down his life for his friends.”
To Donate
Donate to Ailes Scholarship Fund
Scholarship donations supporting Gilroy High School students should be made payable to The Jeramy Ailes Memorial Scholarship and mailed to:
P.O. Box 464
Gilroy, CA 95021
Candlelight vigil
WHERE:
Gavilan Hills Memorial Park,
off First Street
WHEN:
Tonight at 7pm
