Governor orders flags to half-staff Saturday

By Amy Easley and Barney Lerten, KTVZ.COM

A color guard solemnly removed a flag-draped casket carrying Army Sgt. Zachary McBride's remains from a small jet at Redmond's Roberts Field late Thursday morning, a somber homecoming for a 20-year-old Bend native killed in Iraq last week.

Meanwhile, Gov. John Kulongoski ordered all flags at public institutions to be flown at half-staff on Saturday in McBride's memory.

McBride was one of six soldiers killed Jan. 9 when a bomb exploded in a house while they were on patrol in Sinsil, north of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Vilseck, Germany.

"Zachary served his country and his state with great honor," Kulongoski said. "He will be missed by his friends and family and always remembered for his ultimate sacrifice by the citizens of Oregon."

The governor has been invited to Saturday's 1 p.m. memorial service at Eastmont Church, where McBride's father, Marshall, serves, and Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., also plans to be on hand and speak.

A motorcade traveled south from Redmond to Niswonger-Reynolds Funeral Home in Bend, accompanied by the Patriot Riders motorcycle group.

Family friend Sally Lemos, among a small group on hand at the Forest Service Air Center for McBride's arrival, said, "It's hard for us to imagine what Marshall's going through, but knowing that he has this many people helping him bear this burden is a comfort to all of us."

Another friend, Judy Renner, said she is "just amazed" by the community's outpouring of support.

"We are grateful for it," she said. "It is just a wonderful, supportive community to live in."

Visitation for McBride will take place at Eastmont Church on Eagle Road on Friday from 2-5 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. Burial with full military honors is set for Sunday at Portland's Willamette National Cemetery.