Slain Marine Skip Wells remembered
It's been nearly a year since Lance Corporal Skip Wells was killed in a shooting rampage in Chattanooga, Tennessee, along with four other service members.
"He cared more about his fellow Marines and the mission than he did his own wellbeing," 1st Sgt John Coyne, who supervised Wells, said at the funeral. "That's what he was doing on July 16 -- disregarding his own safety so that others might survive."
His friend since middle school, Jarekq Aloiso, remembered Wells as someone who loved sports, video games and military history. He recalled Wells quoting the movie 'Saving Private Ryan' after Aloiso injured his arm in a skateboarding accident.
I was bleeding and crying in pain. Skip watched the whole thing and ran to my rescue," Aloiso explained. "He carried me for a bit and then put my good arm around him up the driveway. It was like two soldiers in Normandy helping each other off the beach. Skip even yelled, 'Medic!'"
Above all, those who knew Wells remembered him as someone dedicated to his country and determined to be the best Marine possible.
"His memory will be preserved," Coyne told the crowd. "His name will be recorded in our history books as a great artillery man, a great Marine, and a hero of July 16, 2015."
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