Procession escorts Beaufort-based Marine who died in jet crash through Bluffton
A small contingent of Bluffton residents carrying flags and wearing red, white and blue stood in the shadow of the Sun City overpass on U.S. 278 Tuesday night waiting for the funeral procession of Marine Corps pilot Lt. Col. Andrew John Mettler.
On the overpass above, under a large American flag lighted by an array of spotlights, a line of Bluffton Township Fire District trucks with lights on and uniformed personnel awaited the arrival.
Patriot Guard riders on motorcycles and S.C. Highway Patrol vehicles led the hearse down the highway just after 9:15 p.m. on the way to Sauls Funeral Home in Bluffton, where nearly 180 Marines were waiting to conduct a ceremony bestowing military honors.
Mettler, 39, died Aug. 25 in a crash of his F/A-18D Hornet near Miramar, California, according to the Marine Times.
He was part of the Marine All-Weather Fighter Attack Squadron 224, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.
His casket was transported by plane on Tuesday from California to Atlanta, and then by vehicle to Bluffton.
Bluffton procession
Air Force veteran Jim Lee and his wife Alice, of Sun City along with Rose Hill residents Desiree Duncan and her daughter Elizabeth said they had been waiting alongside U.S. 278 since 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
When informed that the procession was running hours behind the expected arrival, the group was undaunted.
“We aren’t going anywhere,” Alice Lee said.
“These people fight for us. We have to show them the same support,” said Elizabeth Duncan, 15, who called what the group was doing “standing vigil.”
“Our sacrifice to be out here is nothing compared to what families have sacrificed,” she said.
“We are just keeping the family in our prayers,” Jim Lee said.
Obituary
Mettler’s obituary says he is survived by his wife, Nancy Elizabeth, and three young children, all under the age of 7, sons Luke and Ethan and a daughter Hannah; his parents; a brother and a sister.
A funeral service was held Sept. 28 in La Jolla, California. His memorial page says burial will be at a family cemetery in Statesville, North Carolina, on Oct. 15.
This story was originally published October 3, 2023 at 10:55 PM.
