Body of fallen Marine expected home today

The body of a fallen Marine who loved God, country and family is expected to arrive home today.

A motorcade of military and local law enforcement officers will transport Lance Cpl. Ronald “Dougie” Freeman’s remains from MacDill Air Force Base to East Thonotosassa Baptist Church, where he was a member since childhood. His body is expected to arrive in Tampa at about 1:45 p.m.

A memorial service is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. today at the church at 12735 Knights-Griffin Road. The funeral is slated for 10 a.m. Thursday, also at the church.

“It is obviously a sad time for the family and our church community,” said his pastor, the Rev. Jim Brady. “I was told that the day Doug was killed was his daughter’s (Kaitlin) first birthday. His newborn son (William Douglas) was just 10 days old. Doug never saw him.”

Freeman, 25, joined the Marines in 2008 and was in Afghanistan for only three weeks when he was killed.

Freeman grew up in the Antioch area, west of Plant City, Brady said.

“He was an all-around good guy. He was a young man who wasn’t getting into trouble. He was doing the right things. He had a good heart and cared about people. He was a hard worker and was strong in his faith, which is sometimes unusual in that age group.”

Brady said the loss was especially hard on his young family. Survivors include his wife Katie.

“Doug was so proud to be a father,” Brady said. “His plan was to come back to Antioch and raise his family here. It is a sad time but we can be proud of Doug for who he was.”

Freeman, a Plant City High School graduate, was killed April 28 by an improvised explosive device in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Full military honors for Brady by the Marine Corps are scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Thursday at Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell.

The route for the procession from MacDill is as follows: From the base’s Bayshore Boulevard gate, the procession will head north on Bayshore, east on Platt Street bridge, north on Florida Avenue, east on Jackson Street, north on N. Jefferson Street, east on Twiggs Street, east on Channelside Drive, east on State Road 60, north on Kingsway Road, east on State Road 574 and north on McIntosh Road to the church at McIntosh and Knights-Griffin.

Besides his wife and children, survivors include his father, Brian of Tampa; father and mother-in-law, William and Katherine Clement of Lake City; brother Aaron Freeman of Plant City; sisters Melissa Freeman and Jessica Freeman of Plant City; grandmothers: Yvonne Freeman of Temple Terrace and Betty Zachman of Shelbyville, Tenn., and a host of uncles, aunts and other relatives.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to a trust fund for the children’s education. Checks can be made payable to: T.D. Ameritrade, c/o Gulf Coast Financial Services, 248 N. Marion Ave, Lake City, FL 32055.

Veterans Funeral Care, Clearwater, is handling arrangements.

gnewman@tampatrib.com

(813) 731-8161