Gunnery Sgt. Shawn A. Lane of Corning, New York had begun wearing his father's Air Force hat as a child and had decided by the time he was 8 years old that he wanted to be a soldier. He played high school football and baseball. Shawn Lane studied electronics at BOCES, where he received top honors. Before graduating in June 1989, he looked into the branches of service, and the Marines were the quickest to return his calls. He left in October for basic training at Paris Island, S.C. A year later, he began radio communications school in Calif. He moved to Camp Pendleton, then shipped out to Saudi Arabia for Desert Storm in 1991. He was stationed in Okinawa, Japan, from 1992 to 1993. He graduated Marine Security Guard school, a training ground for FBI and CIA workers, with a score of 92.3, while more than half the 274 people who enrolled dropped out. Shawn shook hands with President George Bush while guarding the American Consulate in Hong Kong in 1993, and was honored for guarding the American Embassy in Bogota, Columbia. He also served in Bahrain for four months in 2002. He spent 15 months in Iraq, beginning in February 2003, and returned there on Feb. 17, 2004. Shawn had 15 years of service and was five years shy of retirement. He leaves behind his wife of six years, Jennifer; a 4-year-old son, his parents; and his older sisters, Tina and Darby. He died due to enemy action at age 33. As part of their high school reunion, the 1989 graduates of Corning-Painted Post East High School gathered at 'Shawn Lane Memorial Park'. Shawn grew up playing in the park.

Marines
Headquarters Battalion
1st Marine Division
I Marine Expeditionary Force
Camp Pendleton, California

Note: Buried at a Private Family Cemetery in Corning, New York