Marine Corporal Kurt Shea, 21, was a radio operator. On Sunday night, his family learned he'd been shot and killed while on duty in Afghanistan.
Shea had wanted a military career since he was three years old. His mother Linda pointed with pride to her son's many awards. As team captain, he led his Frederick High School wrestling team to the regional championship.
Then he became a Marine, following in the footsteps of two uncles whose pictures hang on his bedroom wall. Other family members served in the Army and Navy.
But his mother feared the worst when there was a sharp knock on the door Sunday night, and she saw three men standing outside Sunday night. That's when the family found out what had happened.
"Even though I've lost my son, I'm still very proud to be associated with the Marines," said Linda Shea. "Unfortunately it was Mother's Day evening [when we found out]. It was around nine o'clock. I knew what that meant. I had followed the Marines as far as being supportive to other families who have lost their children and I know about the knock on the door."
Kurt Shea graduated from Frederick High School in 2007. A plaque will be put up in the football stadium in honor of his leadership of the wrestling team and of the school's chapter of Future Farmers of America.
Edward Mayne, the advisor of that group, said Shea loved all animals and growing things.
"The Unsung Hero Award was one of the last awards he had gotten before he graduated," Mayne said. "It was very typical of Kurt. he always did things behind the scenes. He always helped support everybody. And he was recognized for that."
Another teacher at Frederick High, Beth Strakonsky, said, "He was always very respectful, unassuming. He did what he was asked to do, and went about his business."
Kurt Shea's proudest achievement was being a Marine.
His mother thought it important to add this thought: "I encourage everybody everywhere to be supportive of our troops. They're out there. They believe in what they're doing. They're committed. They're serving their community. And unfortunately that's some of the risk that's involved, but I'm very proud of our military."
Shea could have been buried at Arlington National Cemetery, but his mother says his ties to the community of Frederick run so deep that they chose to bury him there.
