ELYRIA, Ohio — Fallen soldiers were honored at Elyria Catholic’s Friday night football game with a special tribute.
"This is a tremendous honor but the most important thing is that no one forgets the contribution that these gentlemen made,” explains Marti Miller, mother of fallen U.S. Army Sergeant Norman "Lane" Tollett.
"When no one remembers anymore that will be like the final knife turning in our souls."
Sgt. Tollett died on April 28, 2007 during his second tour of duty in Iraq. He was a 1994 graduate of Elyria Catholic High School and co-captain of the Panthers football team.
He joined the military at the age of 27 after visiting Ground Zero.
"He would never forget the sites, the sound and smell of the entire atmosphere around the towers,”"explains Miller.
Tollett told his mother why he wanted to go into the Army: "If I could take the place of a young husband or a father with young children at home, that will be my contribution."
Friday night, families of Elyria Catholic grads and fallen soldiers—SP4 Robert "Bo" Cameron, Sgt. Paul C. Diederich, MSgt Robert H. West, and Sgt. Lane Tollett—were honored with a ceremony that included a two-man parachute team dropping an American Flag and an "Honor and Remember" flag carrying the names of more than 600 fallen soldiers.
