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They were going to be married next June, and he wanted her to be the mother of his children.
Now Barbara Wycliffe of Penn Valley will have to plot an unknown future without her fiancé, Lance Cpl. Adam Strain, who was killed by enemy fire Wednesday in Iraq.
He had spent six months there and had five weeks left before coming home to the woman he loved. Instead, he became Nevada County’s first fatality in the current war effort.
“He died proud for his country; he was a hero,” Wycliffe said. “I loved him very much will all my heart. There’s not enough words to explain how much I loved him.”
They met at Ready Springs School and became a couple that past two years after graduating from Nevada Union High School. The pair, both 20, worked at SPD Market in Grass Valley and were planning to live in San Diego as he served out his term in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Wycliffe said her fiancé would stand in line up to five hours at a time to place his weekly call to her. “He hadn’t called since (July) 24th, and that’s how I knew something wasn’t right,” she said Friday.
His father, Rob Strain, said there would be a memorial service on Tuesday in Vermont, where Rob and Karen Strain moved in April. A second service is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 13, in western Nevada County.
“He will be missed by his parents,” Rob Strain said. “The Marines, that’s what he wanted to do after 9/11. He wasn’t one of those who wanted to be in the back; he wanted to be in the front line.”
Strain played defensive end for NU’s storied football program. He also played baseball and had his heart set on the military from a young age.
“You don’t feel the brunt of it until someone does not come home,” said Wycliffe’s best friend, 20-year-old Ashley Warrillow of Penn Valley. “He was a wonderful guy.”
His future mother-in-law remembered him as a respectful young man who asked Wycliffe’s father for her hand in marriage before he left for war.
So far, the Marines are only saying that he was the victim of hostile small arms fire while in combat in the town of Ar Ramadi. “It’s still under investigation,” said Sgt. Claudia Garcia from Camp Pendleton, the Southern California base where he was stationed.
Friends and relatives said they have heard vague reports of the enemy fire that killed Strain.
“He didn’t suffer; it was immediate,” said Wycliffe’s mother, Joyce Wycliffe. “He didn’t know it was coming.”
Strain’s friends were caught equally surprised by the sudden news that he had been fatally shot in a town 70 miles west of Baghdad.
“It’s so bizarre,” said Tim Maire, a Smartville neighbor of Strain’s who shared his love of the outdoors and hunting in the foothills.
“I was just talking to him last week on the phone. I don’t understand.”
Maire said Strain reported the war “was hell.”
“He just wanted to come home. He was there for all of us, which is why he went across the sea,” Maire said.
“He died for us. He went and fought a war for his country. He was an irreplaceable friend.”
Speaking from a family gathering in Burlington, Vt., aunt Cheryl Grodon said “it’s been rough the last couple of days” for Strain’s parents and other relatives.
“He was very honorable and he had a lot of courage,” said half-brother Steve Tomsic of Martinez. “He always wanted to be a soldier.”
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To contact senior staff writer Dave Moller, e-mail davem@the union.com or call 477-4237.
Now Barbara Wycliffe of Penn Valley will have to plot an unknown future without her fiancé, Lance Cpl. Adam Strain, who was killed by enemy fire Wednesday in Iraq.
He had spent six months there and had five weeks left before coming home to the woman he loved. Instead, he became Nevada County’s first fatality in the current war effort.
“He died proud for his country; he was a hero,” Wycliffe said. “I loved him very much will all my heart. There’s not enough words to explain how much I loved him.”
They met at Ready Springs School and became a couple that past two years after graduating from Nevada Union High School. The pair, both 20, worked at SPD Market in Grass Valley and were planning to live in San Diego as he served out his term in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Wycliffe said her fiancé would stand in line up to five hours at a time to place his weekly call to her. “He hadn’t called since (July) 24th, and that’s how I knew something wasn’t right,” she said Friday.
His father, Rob Strain, said there would be a memorial service on Tuesday in Vermont, where Rob and Karen Strain moved in April. A second service is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 13, in western Nevada County.
“He will be missed by his parents,” Rob Strain said. “The Marines, that’s what he wanted to do after 9/11. He wasn’t one of those who wanted to be in the back; he wanted to be in the front line.”
Strain played defensive end for NU’s storied football program. He also played baseball and had his heart set on the military from a young age.
“You don’t feel the brunt of it until someone does not come home,” said Wycliffe’s best friend, 20-year-old Ashley Warrillow of Penn Valley. “He was a wonderful guy.”
His future mother-in-law remembered him as a respectful young man who asked Wycliffe’s father for her hand in marriage before he left for war.
So far, the Marines are only saying that he was the victim of hostile small arms fire while in combat in the town of Ar Ramadi. “It’s still under investigation,” said Sgt. Claudia Garcia from Camp Pendleton, the Southern California base where he was stationed.
Friends and relatives said they have heard vague reports of the enemy fire that killed Strain.
“He didn’t suffer; it was immediate,” said Wycliffe’s mother, Joyce Wycliffe. “He didn’t know it was coming.”
Strain’s friends were caught equally surprised by the sudden news that he had been fatally shot in a town 70 miles west of Baghdad.
“It’s so bizarre,” said Tim Maire, a Smartville neighbor of Strain’s who shared his love of the outdoors and hunting in the foothills.
“I was just talking to him last week on the phone. I don’t understand.”
Maire said Strain reported the war “was hell.”
“He just wanted to come home. He was there for all of us, which is why he went across the sea,” Maire said.
“He died for us. He went and fought a war for his country. He was an irreplaceable friend.”
Speaking from a family gathering in Burlington, Vt., aunt Cheryl Grodon said “it’s been rough the last couple of days” for Strain’s parents and other relatives.
“He was very honorable and he had a lot of courage,” said half-brother Steve Tomsic of Martinez. “He always wanted to be a soldier.”
ooo
To contact senior staff writer Dave Moller, e-mail davem@the union.com or call 477-4237.
