Ironton woman organizes candle lighting

Published 12:00 am Friday, May 28, 2004

Earlier this year, Mary Jo Vermilyea, of Ironton, said goodbye to her son, knowing it would be a long time before she got to see him again.

But as she celebrates Memorial Day, her son will be in her thoughts and prayers, and she will light a candle in honor of that child so far from home.

James Hopper, 21, is a U.S. Marine in the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment. A member of the Ironton High School class of 2001, he left for Iraq immediately after Marine boot camp last summer.

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"I'm proud of him. He went for the right reasons. I still fear for his life every day. I pray every day," Vermilyea said.

Vermilyea has organized a candle lighting service at noon on Monday at the St. Joseph Catholic Church parking lot.

"This is not just for Marines. It's to show support for all service men and women there," Vermilyea said.

Vermilyea said at that moment - 8 p.m. in Iraq - soldiers will gather for a moment of silence. The idea for the candle lighting service came from her association with other mothers whose sons are in the 3/7. Some of the families of the 3/7 Marines have formed an email network, communicating frequently with other and offering moral support. One of the other mothers made the other ladies a candle.

Vermilyea said the candle lighting ceremony has another purpose, too: to spread a more positive message about American soldiers and what they are doing overseas. Vermilyea said lately much of the coverage of the war has focused on bad things: prisoner abuse, for instance.

"My son said last week that they're rebuilding a police station and they're training police officers," Vermilyea said. "They do have support from the Iraqi people but some of them are afraid of getting killed of they show support."

Vermilyea said she anticipated that her son would be home in September for five months before possibly returning for another tour of duty in the Middle East. The 3/7 has served two seven-month tours of duty in Iraq, with five-month breaks in between.