Chad Maynard was so eager to become a Marine that he whipped through his high school classes so he could attend boot camp while his classmates were finishing their last semester of school.
He was so proud to be a Marine that he insisted on wearing his full-dress uniform rather than the traditional graduation gown when he came home to collect his diploma at graduation ceremonies for the class of 2004.
Monday, Maynard’s family, classmates and friends paid tribute to the 19-year-old’s single-minded dedication to his country at a memorial service in his high school auditorium.
Lance Cpl. Maynard was killed Wednesday when a roadside bomb exploded near Ramadi, Iraq.
The bomb tore into an armored Humvee that Maynard was riding in for patrol duty.
He had been in Iraq for four months with the 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
“Chad was from a different breed,” said John Boughton, chief of the ROTC program at Montrose High School. “He believed in the big picture. It was not just about himself. He worked to do his duty and to honor his country.”
Maynard was an active and award-winning part of the school’s ROTC for four years.
Boughton spoke about Maynard on Monday as he was preparing to don his dress uniform “to say goodbye to my friend” at the memorial service.
He said Maynard had always wanted to be in the Marines like his father, Gene Maynard, a Vietnam veteran, and his brother Jacob Maynard, who served two tours in Iraq and is stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
When Jacob was in Iraq, Chad was known to stand on street corners in a camouflage uniform with a sign urging passers-by to support the troops.
Jacob will accompany his brother’s body back to Colorado this week for a funeral that will be held in the Denver area. Arrangements are pending.
The Montrose memorial Monday was to include a flag presentation to Maynard’s parents, Gene and Cindy Maynard, who live in Lake Havasu City, Ariz.
Other survivors include another brother, Jeremiah; sister Breanne; and his wife, Rebecca, whom he married in December. She is expecting their first child in about a month.
Staff writer Nancy Lofholm can be reached at 970-256-1957 or nlofholm@denverpost.com.
