NEVER FORGET! LCpl Justin McLeese

Before he left for war, a Marine who was killed in Iraq had a friend memorize messages to give to each member of his family in case something happened to him.

Mourners gathered Friday to reflect on the messages and bid farewell to Lance Cpl. Justin Daniel McLeese, who was killed Nov. 13 in a booby-trapped building in Fallujah.

McLeese’s sister, Tara, shared her message with more than 500 people who packed a Catholic church for her brother’s funeral in Covington, north of New Orleans.

“He said that he would be watching over me and that I was his hero,” she said through tears. “Well, Justin, you were my hero. You were a hero to all of us, and we will carry you in our hearts forever.”

Relatives said McLeese, who was scheduled to return from Iraq in January, was deeply affected by the 2001 terrorist attacks. Pfc. Phil Demaire IV, who joined the Marines with McLeese, said McLeese would “stand 10 inches taller when he wore the uniform.”

Retired Archbishop Phillip Hannan told mourners that McLeese “died for a cause that is a tremendous benefit and interest to all of us. I’d like to assure all of you, Justin did not die in vain.”